


Denial

by Violet_Rose



Category: Ghost Adventures (TV)
Genre: M/M, establish relationship Nick Groff/Aaron Goodwin, first time Zak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:07:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 44,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27483973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violet_Rose/pseuds/Violet_Rose
Summary: Zak wondered what was so special about Aaron.  What did he have that Zak didn’t?  He could count on two hands what would make him more sexually attractive than the bald, goofy man so he just didn’t get it.  But oh they were good.  So good it was almost criminal.  Only when the cameras were off was it even somewhat evident what had evolved between his co-investigators.  He wasn’t even gay or interested in Nick, so he didn’t understand why it bothered him so bad, but damn.  What did Aaron have that Zak didn’t?
Relationships: Aaron Goodwin/Nick Groff, Zak Bagans/Aaron Goodwin, Zak Bagans/Nick Groff, Zak Bagans/Nick Groff/Aaron Goodwin
Comments: 11
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter One

Zak wondered what was so special about Aaron. What did _he_ have that Zak didn’t? He could count on two hands what would make him more sexually attractive than the bald, goofy man so he just didn’t get it. But oh they were good. _So_ good it was almost criminal. Only when the cameras were off was it even somewhat evident what had evolved between his co-investigators. He wasn’t even gay or interested in Nick, so he didn’t understand why it bothered him so bad, but damn. What did _Aaron_ have that Zak didn’t?

He had seen both of them naked. Not exactly intentionally but they had changed clothes in front of each other before and since he noticed this development, he started paying better attention to their bodies. Sure Aaron had thinned out and okay he looked pretty good naked, but Zak was stronger and more physically developed. His body couldn’t be it.

Zak could be a diva sometimes, sure. He knew that about himself. But his diva-ness had gotten them some damn good evidence and into some great buildings and great relationships with other people in the field. His personality alone was more masculine than Aaron’s on most occasions. Aaron had been so scared of his own shadow when they first started. Maybe that was it. Nick had comforted Aaron when Zak wasn’t around and then it just kinda went from there. It was a Florence Nightingale thing. Nick was his savior. But he had walked in on them once, Nick down on his knees in front of Aaron in a chair. If he was the savior, then shouldn’t Aaron be down on his knees? Zak shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that.

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat in front of the SUV on the way to the lockdown, he looked over at Nick. He had a wife and a child at home. What could possibly be so damn special about Aaron that he would jeopardize his family life? What was so special that he would even think about him in that way? And he was jeopardizing their team! What would happen if they broke up?! Would Nick leave? Would Aaron leave? Zak shook his head. Another thing he didn’t want to think about. They were a strong trifecta. Ghost Adventures wouldn’t be the same without either of them.

“What’s up, Zak?” Nick asked from across the car.

“What?” he asked, the question taking him out of his thoughts.

“You looked like you were in deep thought and then got this kind of pissed off look on your face. You ok?”

Zak shrugged, turning back to look out the windshield. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Aaron snorted from the back seat. “What the fuck is wrong with _you_?”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Nothing, bro. You’ve just seemed really strange lately.”

“He’s always strange,” Nick laughed.

Zak pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. Putting his earbuds in his ears, he picked the angriest song he could find on his iphone and turned it on full blast.

That night he heard the hushed noises coming from the room next to his. He knew those voices. He heard those whispers in the dark quite often, but never in this manner. Then Nick moaned. _Moaned_. Zak grumbled and rolled over in his bed, covering his head with a pillow to try to drown out the noise, but it seemed to make the creaking of the bed even louder. He tried to ignore the stirring in his groin at the sounds carrying through the plaster and drywall. 

“Oh, fuck, Aaron, do that again,” Nick moaned through the wall.

Zak grunted throwing the pillow from his head off. He was fully awake now and beginning to feel like an unwilling voyeur. Whatever Aaron was doing over there must be what made him so damn special. Silently, he still wondered what that was. Not that he wanted to experience it… but if he could steal the technique… The moans came quicker, echoing each other, giving small encouragements. Every time Zak closed his eyes, the scene behind his eyelids played out what his co-investigators were doing. Rolling over again, he thought he’d just wait them out. He stared at the window, for once, willing the sun to rise. Suddenly the sounds from the other room ceased. Closing his eyes again, he felt sleep taking over his body just as a loud groaned seeped through the wall. His own groan echoed back at him as he flopped back over on his back, staring at the ceiling again wondering if this was round 2 or just a continuation of the first.

He heard the grunts coming through loud and clear now as the mattress springs protested louder from the other room. Zak grumbled as his cock started to pulse in his boxers. He could pretend… Closing his eyes he ran his hands down his bare chest, cupping himself roughly through the dark cotton. Nick moaned and a surprise answering moan escaped his own lips. Quickly, he flung a hand over his mouth, fearful that he had been heard, but the continued movement from the other room neither slowed nor stopped. Ridding himself of his boxers, his hand stroked over his erect cock, feeling the smoothness against his palm. He hated needing to jack off. Silently he wished he had taken up the offer that pretty blond at the bar gave him to suck him off in a back room. He would have been deep in a blissful sleep by now and not heard any of what was going on next door. Spitting in his hand, he returned it to his cock, stroking slowly, rubbing his thumb over the head on each upstroke. As the springs squeaked faster on the other side of the wall, Zak quickened his own movements, listening in on his friends hushed words to each other. His left hand explored his chest, rubbing at smooth skin. Behind his closed eyelids, he saw Nick’s smile, that goofy grin that Zak couldn’t help but always return. Shaking his head he tried not to think about Nick. No… that just wasn’t right. He tried to picture that blond girl… what was her name? Monica? Whatever, names didn’t matter.

Nick moaned loud again and Zak’s body reacted, his cock twitching in his hand as he subconsciously moved his hand faster, furiously pulling at the erect muscle. Precum mixed with the spit in his hand as his body came alive, pulsing beneath his hands. Nick’s face invaded his fantasies again. This time the face appeared above him, whispering his own name, moaning out as he moved above him. _This_ time Zak relented, allowing his best friend’s visage in. The hand from his chest ventured farther down his body, stroking down his hip and down beneath his balls. Thoughts invaded his mind that Nick and Aaron touched each other like this. His fingers went farther, brushing over his entrance. Another moan escaped his lips as it twitched beneath his touch. He wondered what it would be like to let Nick touch him like this. What would his fingers feel like? The world around him ceased to exist as did the muffled noises from next door as his fantasy played out behind his eyelids. Nick above him, hands on his body, brushing down, entering him. Slowly, he twirled his finger around his hole again, daring to push the tip in slightly. Licking his lips, he felt his heartbeat speed up even more as the heat flared across his body, his arousal at its peak. His nipples burned they were so hard as he gritted his teeth, pushing his index finger in.

A surprise hiss escaped his lips as his cock erupted unexpectedly at this new touch. Shame colored his cheeks as his eyes flew open. His hands stilled, as he realized the position he had put himself in. Quickly, Zak righted himself and stood up, washing his cum off his stomach and then washing his hands. Slowly he pulled his boxers back on and got back into bed, noting the quiet from the room next door. 

The next morning at breakfast, Nick kicked at Zak’s foot under the table. Zak grumbled a hushed, frustrated, “What?!”

“Dude, you’re quiet. What the hell is wrong? Didn’t you sleep?” Nick asked as Aaron sat down next to him.

Zak’s eyes flashed up at them, the images from night before flashing in front of him. Aaron and Nick on the bed, naked, hands roaming, lips wet and plump from overuse… He shook his head to erase the image. Silently he wondered who bottomed last night. From the sounds it seemed like Nick was, but he wasn’t sure. Was he walking funny today? He didn’t remember. Were they face to face when they did it? He didn’t know the protocol on gay sex, but he assumed it wasn’t much different from straight sex. Not that he thought about it…

“Bro?” Aaron asked, leaning forward. “Seriously, are you ok? Do you need some time? Nick and I can go out and shoot B-roll if you want to go back to bed for a bit.”

Bile rose in his chest. “No,” he spat out. “I’m fine. You two don’t need to be alone together anyways.” Standing up, Zak stalked his way over to the garbage can and walked out the door.

“He heard us,” Nick whispered.

Aaron shrugged. “He’s walked in on us before. It’s not like he didn’t know we were together.”

“Yeah…,” he said, standing up and collecting their own garbage. “But this is different. Head is one thing, sex is more serious. Let me go talk to him real quick. Just give me a few minutes, ok?”

Aaron nodded. “I’m just going to head over and get some coffee. I’ll give you like 10 minutes.”

Nick walked out the door, spotting Zak leaning against their SUV. Leaning against the grill next to him, he crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat. “You heard us last night.” It wasn’t a question.

Zak nodded.

“I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have… We could have been quieter.”

“Why Aaron?” Zak asked.

Nick was visibly stunned by the question. “What do you mean?”

Zak shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. His voice going small. “Why did you choose Aaron? What attracted you to him? I had no idea, Nick. Are you gay? Bi? This just… it’s so random. Did you bottom for him? Did you take it?”

There was no venom in his voice so Nick tried not to take offense. “It was kind of random for us too… I guess I’m bi. My wife doesn’t know, and I’d like to keep it that way, Zak.”

Zak nodded. He would never tell her anyway, nor would she believe him. They didn’t exactly have a friendship between them. He kicked a rock in front of him, waiting for Nick to go on, never actually looking at him.

Nick sighed. “I don’t know why I chose Aaron or what initially attracted me to him. I guess it was just a mutual growing together. I’ve known him for so long and things just clicked at the same time for us. Do you…,” he cleared his throat, “do you really want to know about that other stuff? I’ll tell you, but I don’t… I don’t want it to change anything between us.” He saw Aaron at the door and shook his head. _Not yet, please don’t come out here yet_ , he thought. Thankfully, Aaron nodded and retreated back into the restaurant.

Zak looked up at him and squared off his body to him. “Yeah I want to know.”

Nick turned to face him, arms still crossed over his chest. “Yes, last night I bottomed for Aaron, but it isn’t always like that. We switch…”

Zak’s face scrunched. Nick realized just how nervous this was making him feel as his stomach flipped at that simple facial movement. “Does it feel different? To be inside a guy I mean…”

Nick smiled slightly. “A little. There are some different parts there that you kind of have to pay attention to, but it’s not entirely different. It’s more different to be receiving.”

Zak rolled his eyes, “Well yeah, I’d imagine that.”

“That hurts a little at first, but once you get going it feels amazing, Zak. When he strokes over your prostate, it’s like a mini explosion of awesome.”

“Do you love him?”

That wasn’t a question Nick was expecting. Love? “I don’t know… on some level I do, but it’s not a forever kind of love.”

Zak nodded.

“I’m sorry you heard us last night,” Nick said again. “We didn’t mean to offend you, seriously. We’ll be more quiet next time.”

Zak shrugged, pulling his hands out of his pockets to play with his rings. “You didn’t offend me. You sounded like you were enjoying yourselves.” How could he tell Nick that he jacked off to his moans and a fantasy of him touching him in places no one has ever been allowed before? 

“Zak…,” Nick asked, a small smile entering his voice, “are you curious?”

He scoffed. “No. I’m just sayin. You were moaning awful loud so it must have been good.”

Nick nodded, smiled, and blushed. “He’s good at what he does.”

Zak grumbled again, the same question he had rolling through his mind the day before continued on repeat in his brain as Aaron walked outside to greet them at the SUV. Just what the fuck was it that was so damn special about Aaron?


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zak questions Aaron and Nick is ... well Nick. It's a lot of dialogue but it sets up the rest of the story ;)

“Dude…”

“I know! But I seriously think he is!” Nick said, swigging from his bottle of water. The airport was quiet around them, not many people flying out of an airport in the middle of nowhere at 8am.

“What makes you think Zak is bi-curious?” Aaron asked, lowering his voice a bit.

“He was just asking a bunch of questions like what it felt like and how it was different.”

Aaron looked over at their lead investigator as he stood at the counter, ordering something quick to eat. The thought rolled through his brain but was quickly halted. “It’s Zak.”

“I know!”

They lapsed into silence as the man in question made his way back over to them. Nick smiled at him as he sat down, producing a questioning look. “What?” Zak asked.

“Nothing.”

Eyeing Aaron, he looked back at Nick. “What?” he asked again.

“Hungry?”

“The fuck is wrong with you?”

Nick shrugged and turned back to Aaron, pulling out his cell phone. Zak sighed and looked down at his wrap, tearing into it and taking a bite as Nick fired off a text message. _Let me know how he acts back home. See if he acts weird._

Two days later, Nick received his first text message from Aaron about Zak. _Stop baiting him. That’s not nice._

Nick chuckled and responded. _What do you mean?_ Seconds later his phone rang. “Hey.”

“Dude, don’t send him shirtless photos. Send those to me.”

“I told him it was meant for you but I accidentally sent it to him,” Nick smiled.

“Whatever. He and I are going to see Billy spin tonight,” Aaron said.

“That’s good. Get him nice and drunk and I’ll give him a call later.”

“Dick.”

“You miss it.”

“Whatever. When does your flight get in this weekend?”

“I’m leaving at like 6am so I think 9am your time. I have a layover so I’m a little delayed.”

“Awesome.” Nick could hear the smile in his voice.

“See you soon. Go have fun with Zak!”

“Don’t call him!”

Nick ended the call, quickly firing off a text message to Zak. _Don’t get drunk and molest Aaron tonight. He might like it._

It took twenty minutes for the response, but the wait was well worth it. He wondered how long Zak stared at his phone trying to come up with a witty comeback and failing. 

_Don’t worry. He only gets you going._

_He’s something special. Just telling you hands off._

_He has more hair on his face than most women have on their pussy. No worries, bro._

Nick snorted and pocketed his phone, looking forward to the phone call he was going to make later.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Zak eyed Aaron from across the bar as he talked to a pretty blond woman that he thought looked like Aaron’s ex-wife. Maybe he’d find a nice woman and leave Nick the hell alone so he wouldn’t have to listen to any more of their sexcapades. He just didn’t want to listen to Nick moan out Aaron’s name anymore. That one time was enough and frankly, one too many times. Really, what would make Nick moan like _that_ when he was… Zak shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that.

Slowly, the bald headed man began making his way back over to Zak, grinning widely at him before ordering another drink. “How you doin, G?”

Zak nodded his response, still eyeing the older man. His body thrummed with warmth from the liquor he consumed and the hands that occasionally roamed a bicep or pectoral muscle as a woman attempted to charm him. Tonight, he wasn’t interested. No, he had too much going through his mind. Normally any woman with blond hair, usually from a bottle, and nice tits would do; take her out back or even out to the car for about fifteen minutes, just long enough to make her feel like she had a good ride and for him to get off. But the image of Nick and Aaron together rolling through his mind blew his chances of any of that tonight.

“Bro? You all right?” Aaron asked again as the bartender placed his drink in front of him and another in front of Zak.

Zak opened his mouth to answer just as Aaron’s cell phone rang in his pocket. Instead of responding to the question, Zak’s brow furrowed as he looked down at the offending sound that he could hear even over the music. “Maybe you should answer that. It might be _Nick_ calling and you wouldn’t want to miss that,” he said with the least amount of malice that he could before turning back to the bar to down his drink.

Aaron snorted. “He knows where I am and who I’m with. He wouldn’t be calling me so I don’t really care who’s calling.”

Zak turned back on him, his face clouded slightly with something Aaron couldn’t place. “Do you love him, Aaron?” He knew that this was the same question he asked Nick, but he really wanted an answer from Aaron.

Instead, he just got a shrug. “Why does it matter to you? It’s between me and Nick.”

“It involves me.”

“Bro, not the conversation to be having here.”

“Then let’s go home.”

Aaron nodded. He knew this storm was coming eventually, might as well get it over with now. They paid their tabs and hailed a cab back to Aaron’s house where they had left their cars, both men silent on the entire car ride.

Putting the key in the lock, Aaron braced himself. He wasn’t sure what was coming at him or what exactly Zak thought about it. He knew that Nick had said Zak had some strange questions but seemed curious enough about it. Maybe that was just what this was about.

“Want a beer?” he asked as he made his way towards the fridge. He was going to need one, he knew, but Zak shook his head so Aaron handed him a water bottle instead.

“Do you love him?” he asked again as they sat down at the table. The air between them was thick with tension. Zak looked as uncomfortable as the question made him feel.

Aaron shrugged again. “I’m not interested in marrying him. It hasn’t gone that far and I don’t think it will. We can appreciate each other, what we do, and we can share things-“

“But we all do that anyways, bro. What makes it so different between you and Nick? How did it... Why are you sleeping with him?” Zak’s voice raised a bit with his emotion.

Aaron sighed. Yup, there it was, those questions Nick warned him about. He didn’t know how to respond to him because he didn’t really have an answer. “Look man, I didn’t mean to step on your toes if you-“

“I’m not, Aaron.”

“I’m just sayin!” He rubbed a hand over his head. This was not going to end pretty any way he was going to answer. “I don’t know why Nick. We just… it just happened. I’d tell you I’m sorry but I’m not. I look forward to the time he and I spend together, alone.”

Zak nodded. “But it’s not love,” a slight sneer on his face.

“No, not in the traditional house and white picket fence kind anyways. We just appreciate each other.” The response sounded cheesy even to himself. Times like this he wished he lived in a different state instead of Nick.

“Do you look at other men?” Zak’s voice quieted a bit.

Aaron furrowed his brow. “No, why would I?”

“Nick says he’s bi.”

That was news to Aaron, but whatever suited Nick. “I’m straight, Nick is just different. I don’t think I’d sleep with any other man. If he’s interested in other men that’s up to him.”

Zak shrugged and played with the label on his bottle, slowly peeling it off, gently laying the torn pieces of paper on the table in front of him. That same nagging question though rolled through his brain. “What is it you do that makes him want you?”

“You mean it’s not my winning personality?” Aaron flashed him a cheesy grin.

Zak rolled his eyes. “Whatever, bro, I’m serious.”

“So am I. You’ll have to ask him. I don’t know what makes him want me.”

“What makes you want him then?”

Aaron sighed and took a swig from his beer. “What makes you care? You walked in on us before and you never asked these questions. You’ve known about this for a few months now so why are you so suddenly interested?”

“Because I want to know what makes you so fucking special.”

“And not you?”

Zak blushed a deep crimson, dropping his water bottle on the table. “That’s not what I’m asking.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Fuck you, Aaron,” Zak said and stood up, fishing his keys out of his pocket.

“Bro, I’m not letting you drive home yet. You’re too drunk to drive.”

“Fuck that, I’m fine.”

“No you’re not. Want to know what’s so special about him?” Aaron answered, his own voice raising. “He respects me. He makes me feel like I’m an awesome person and he wants to know my opinion on things. We share information, we talk about anything. He makes me feel needed and yes loved. And yeah, he’s damn good in bed.”

Zak sat back down on the chair, car keys still in his hand, his face fallen.

“You wanted to know, so there you go. He’s a fucking great person. You are too, bro. It just didn’t happen with you.”

“Did you want it to?”

That was not a question Aaron was expecting. “I… I never thought about you in that way.”

“But you thought about Nick in that way before this?”

Aaron grumbled. “Not really…”

“Who made the first move?”

“He did. We were reviewing evidence and he kissed me.”

“Romantic.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Shut up, man. That’s what happened.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Every day.”

“But it’s not love.”

“I’m not changing my answer.”

“So I don’t treat you with respect and make you feel like an awesome person?”

“Zak, that’s so not the issue here.”

“I just want to know why Nick. Why now? Why you and him…”

“It just is, bro. I’m sorry if you have a problem with it. We didn’t mean to throw it in your face like that. We try to be respectful of everyone on the team but especially you. You’re our brother. We don’t want to hurt you.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, Aaron staring at Zak while he played with the car keys in his hand. “Nick said you might be curious.”

Zak snorted. “He’s wrong.”

Aaron smiled. “You sure about that bro?”

“Whatever, Aaron. You know I’m straight.”

“You didn’t take a girl home tonight. Instead, I took you home,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at him.

“So what? Now you’re thinking about having sex with me?” Zak laughed.

Aaron laughed back, downing his beer. “What would Nick say?”

Zak looked back down at his keys still in his hand. “I need to go.” He said standing up. Aaron watched him walk out the front door, silently praying that he made it the few blocks home.

Quickly, he texted Nick that he thought he might be right. Zak was curious, but to leave him alone. This was his issue to figure out on his own.

Nick just responded with a smiley face.

Just as Zak laid down in his bed, Gracie on his right side, his cell phone vibrated on the night stand. Grumbling he reached over, grabbing it and hitting answer before looking at the caller ID. “I made it home, Aaron. I’m fine.”

“Already mistaking me for someone else I see.”

“Nick,” Zak said, flopping back on the bed, free hand rubbing at his temple. “What do you want?”

“How was your evening?”

“I didn’t touch Aaron.”

Nick laughed. “That wasn’t my question.”

“It went fine.”

“Just fine?”

“What the fuck do you want, man? It’s late. Fuck, it’s even later over there. Why are you up?”

“Morning run. I was just calling to check on you. Aaron just texted me good night so I figured you guys were home.”

Zak could hear the smile in his voice and he hated him for it right now. “I’m not curious, Nick. I can’t believe you told Aaron that. I’m straight and you know it.”

“I just said you _might_ be. Did he make a move on you?”

“No, he said ‘what would Nick say?’”

“Oh so you made a move on him?”

“Fucking hell, Nick! Leave me the fuck alone. I’m tired, I’m in bed and I was going to sleep before you called.”

“In bed huh? What are you wearing?”

“We are not having this conversation…”

“I’m just getting ready to get in the shower…”

“Good night, bro,” Zak said hanging up the phone.

Zak hit the off button on his phone before rolling over and closing his eyes. He huffed as Gracie pushed against his back with her paws. He needed new friends.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein Zak is in complete denial and Nick & Aaron are in an established relationship.

Aaron smiled as he wrapped his arms around Nick from behind in his kitchen, both men clothed only in their boxers. “I’m so glad you got the morning flight,” he smiled, nuzzling into his neck.

Nick chuckled at the tickle of Aaron’s beard against his skin, the soft lips pressed against his neck. “Me too, but that drive to Boston was a bitch.” Turning around in his arms, he wrapped his own around the slender frame, pulling the older man in closer. “But it was worth it to get these few stolen hours. When do we have to see Zak?”

“At 2 so we have a few more hours still.”

Nick smiled, kissing him softly. “Do you ever get tired? You’re like the energizer bunny.”

Aaron shrugged, stepping away from Nick to put up the clean dishes. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had you in my house, in my bed…”

“Who says we have to go to the bed?”

Eyebrows raised dramatically, Aaron gave him a stern look. “Bro… my kitchen. I cook here. We eat here.”

Nick shrugged as he dropped his boxers to the floor, kicking out of them before sitting up on the counter. “I’ll wash it off.”

Aaron’s heart beat slightly faster. Slight panic coursed through his blood stream at the image of Nick naked on his kitchen counter, but the blood eventually pooled in a much more convenient location. Sidling up in between Nick’s legs, he smiled, kissing him softly. “But the bed…”

Nick grinned devilishly as he pushed Aaron’s boxer briefs down his legs. “Is so far away,” he finished for him, wrapping one hand around the stiffening cock. Lips crashed down hard on his own as Aaron’s arms wrapped around his body, pulling him close to the edge of the counter. “Love you,” he groaned.

Aaron batted Nick’s hand out of the way, grinding cock against cock, watching his lover’s eyelashes flutter at the sensation. “Love you,” he moaned back. Hands worked carefully to relearn the muscles on the other’s body, fingers dipping into muscled valleys as they rutted against each other. Nick’s lips slowly kissed along Aaron’s long neck before dropping his head to his shoulder. 

The counter groaned slightly underneath Nick’s weight and their movements, causing both men to chuckle softly. “Hope this counter holds.”

“It’ll hold,” Aaron responded, wrapping Nick’s legs around his waist and pulling him impossibly closer. Soft pants filled the kitchen as their movements became more frantic, precum mixing between their bodies. A slight sheen of sweat appeared on their bodies, muscles tensing with the buildup. Clinging tightly to each other, they let out a moan as they released, one shortly following the other.

Aaron reached over and grabbed a paper towel, wiping their bodies off and throwing it in the trash. Wrapping his arms back around Nick, he kissed him softly before resting his forehead against his. “My clean kitchen…”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Will be clean again. I’ll clean it. Whatever, it’s not like you didn’t enjoy it.”

“That’s not the-“

Aaron’s front door opened as Zak walked in unannounced, backpack and laptop in hand. “Aaron!” he shouted, not seeing the two men to his left in the kitchen. “I thought we could go over some stuff before… Oh…” he said, finally turning.

Nick rested his chin on Aaron’s shoulder, wrapping his legs around his naked waist again as Aaron dipped his own head into Nick’s shoulder, not wanting to face this situation. “Morning, Zak,” Nick said cheerily.

“Oh…,” Zak said again, motionless in the entryway. “Oh.”

Aaron bent down without turning around, pulling up his boxer briefs before facing Zak. “Dude, you coulda knocked.” His blush reached around his bald head as he tried to body block Nick, still naked on the counter.

But Nick would have none of it as he gently pushed Aaron out of his way, jumping down from the counter. “I decided to fly in early to spend some extra time with Aaron,” he said, walking over to the fridge and getting out a bottle of water.

Aaron rolled his eyes and whispered, “Put your boxers on.”

Nick shrugged at him, taking the top off the water and chugging half the bottle. Zak still stood there, staring at Nick, his body frozen to the spot, still holding his backpack in his hands. “You ok there, Zak? You look a little… flustered.”

“For God’s sake, Nick, put your damn underwear on!” Aaron nearly shouted, throwing the boxer shorts at him.

Nick caught them and sighed, bending over to put them on. “Better?” he said, looking at Aaron. Turning back to Zak he asked, “Or would you rather me go back to being naked?”

Zak backstepped, his jaw working but the words weren’t coming out. “I’ll just come back later,” he said, and backed out the door. Seconds later they heard the roar of Zak’s Bentley as he backed out of the driveway.

“That was mean,” Aaron told Nick as he got out the bleach cleaner. 

Nick snorted, stealing the cleaner and grabbing a paper towel to wipe down the counter. “He’s the one that walked in on us.”

“Still, that was mean. Why are you enjoying torturing him so much?”

Nick looked at Aaron over his shoulder, an evil grin, “Because it’s Zak.”

“You can be such a dick sometimes, you know?” he said, picking up his phone from the table and calling the familiar number. “Bro, you can come back over. We can look at whatever you wanted to.”

Nick stopped on the stairs as he walked up to take a shower, listening to Aaron try to calm a no-doubt upset Zak. “No, no, no! It’s ok… No, Nick’s not even in the room right now... Yeah we’d be clothed. No… Bro, you don’t owe me anything, it’s not a big deal…. No you didn’t interrupt anything.” Aaron sighed loudly. “Ok, we’ll see you around two.” Nick smirked as he continued walking up the stairs.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Zak sped through his neighborhood, zipping into his driveway, shoving his phone awkwardly into his back pocket after his conversation with Aaron as he drove. His heart beat 90 miles per hour and he couldn’t get the image of Nick naked out of his head, walking around in Aaron’s kitchen. And Aaron naked between his legs... They had just been… He had walked in on… Running his hand down his face, he got out of the car. Why was it that he kept getting involved in their sex life? This was starting to get uncomfortable. But, damn did he owe Aaron an apology. A huge fat one. He really had just walked into his house, completely unannounced. But how was he supposed to know that Nick was taking the early flight? No one told him!

“Fuck,” Zak told Gracie when he walked in the door. “This is getting ridiculous.” Aaron was his best friend. The last thing he wanted to do was piss him off and here he keeps interrupting him and Nick. Shaking his head, he still tried to get those images out. He didn’t need to be thinking about his best friends being naked and fucking. Shit, how was he going to make up for this one? Sure, Aaron had said he didn’t owe him anything, but damn _he_ would be pissed if one of them walked in on him getting laid and interrupted it.

He was going to have to make it up to him…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You know, this investigation is getting awkward,” Aaron whispered to Nick during one of their breaks. It had been days since Zak had walked in on them and the man had been unnaturally quiet.

Nick just shrugged. “Zak’s left us alone. Think of it as a gift.”

Aaron snorted. “Something’s up, dude.”

Nick nodded as he tossed his garbage from his snack into their makeshift trashcan. “Yeah, he’s trying to figure out his sexuality.”

Aaron shook his head. That wasn’t exactly what he thought it was, but he was going to let it go. It was nice to have Zak tone it down just a bit but he wasn’t a big fan of this quiet person in their midst in place of their friend. The next day they would be back in Vegas and he figured that all would go back to normal then because Nick would be going home. Maybe Nick just made him nervous. Or he was pissed at him. That could _totally_ be it. The man could get damn aggravating at times, he was well aware of that. But for now he took Nick’s hand in his and squeezed it before letting go. He had one more night with the man and even though it was spent in a dusty old haunted building, he was thankful for it.

Tomorrow night he would deal with Zak.

The plane ride home to Vegas was quiet. Aaron slept while Zak played on his phone and watched a movie, still eerily quiet for the older man’s tastes but whatever. He was allowed to sleep and wasn’t bothered every five minutes which was just fine with him. Even the ride back to their houses was quiet, Zak dropping Aaron off before heading to his own house. “Hey, G,” Zak said as Aaron grabbed his bag out of the back of the truck. “Can I come over tonight and help you pack up your Big Steppin’ orders from the week?”

Aaron raised an eyebrow, but he knew Zak was starting his own clothing business so maybe he wanted pointers? He shrugged, “Sure bro. I’ll give you a call when I wake up and get moving.”

Sure enough, Zak showed up not 20 minutes after Aaron called him, dressed down in jeans and an old white t-shirt. “Trying to be a normal human being?” he joked.

Zak gave him a dirty look. “Ok, what do you want me to do?”

Aaron shrugged. “I don’t know bro. What do you want to do? Why did you want to help me?”

Zak shrugged back, picking up a Big Steppin tank top. “I just thought it would be nice. I hardly ever see you outside of investigations anymore.”

“Ok, well,” he handed him a stack of papers. “Here’s a bunch of orders. Start lining them up on the table.” He walked Zak around, explaining where everything was and went to work on his own stack. They worked in complete silence but the awkwardness hung thick in the air. With two people, the job went quickly and they moved on to placing the orders in the box. As Zak packed, Aaron wrote the names and addresses on the labels. Stacking up the last box, he took a picture, tweeted it letting all of his fans know that the boxes would go out the next day.

Then, he turned to Zak. “What’s the real reason you wanted to help me?”

Zak shrugged again. “I felt like I owed you something.”

“Why would you owe me anything?”

“I walked in on you… and everything.”

“Did Nick put you up to this?”

Zak whipped his head up, glaring hard at Aaron. “No, he’s being a dick.”

Aaron chuckled, grabbing a sweatshirt and heading for the front door. “He can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. You don’t owe me anything, bro, but since you’re here, how about we hit the strip? It’s time for my nightly walking.”

Zak groaned internally. When Aaron got to walking, he would do it for hours and even though he said he didn’t owe him anything, he felt like he did. “Sure. I guess I could use some exercise. Maybe we can hit a casino?” he asked hopefully, knowing full well he would nudge the older man into at least one.

Hours later, Zak was bitching. Aaron should have expected it. Apparently the desire to pay him back for walking in on him and Nick naked had worn off. He rolled his eyes as Zak once again bitched about wearing holes through his shoes. “Fine, bro, pick a casino,” he relented.

Zak beamed at him and drunk him into the closest establishment with bright lights and obnoxious music. Aaron rolled his eyes as they paid for casino cards and sidled up to the slot machines. It wasn’t long before a beautiful waitress came around, asking if they needed anything. Zak, his good mood returned, slapped Aaron on the back and ordered alcoholic beverages for them both. Aaron opened his mouth to protest, but Zak waved him off. “Owe you, bro,” he said returning to his machine.

Aaron still protested, but accepted the drink when it came. Their money went quickly as he followed Zak around the casino, finally sitting down at Keno, drinks still appearing at their side every step of the way. They randomly chose numbers, giving each other shit about their selections as they both lost miserably. Aaron sighed, feeling the alcohol course through his system as he ran his hand over his bald head, feet propped on the seat in front of him in the nearly empty room. “Bro, I’m a grand down. I’m done.”

Zak snorted. “What’s a grand, man? We got all night!”

Aaron rolled his head to the side to look at him. “Yeah, but I’m not a gambler,” he laughed. “You are the gambler in our little group, bro. I’m surprised you haven’t lost more.”

Zak shrugged. “Not like it would matter anyways.”

“Of course it matters, man. That’s money!”

“Yeah, whatever. I guess you’re right.” Zak sighed as only one of his numbers were called. “I guess this was a waste. Sorry for interrupting your walking for a night of losing man.”

Aaron shrugged, watching the numbers show up on the screen in front of them. “Whatever, bro. It’s been fun. We haven’t spent this much time alone together in awhile.”

Zak snorted, lining up a new set of numbers for the next round. “Yeah, that’s true. Do you and Nick get a lot of alone time?”

Ah there it was. But the inquiry seemed innocent enough, not accusatory. “Not a whole lot, but we make time for each other.”

“Like the other morning…”

Aaron nodded. “Like the other morning.”

“Still sorry I interrupted that, bro. I didn’t know.”

Aaron smiled at him. “It’s not a problem man. You didn’t interrupt anything. We were…” Aaron thought better of what he was going to say. He didn’t want to make Zak uncomfortable, or at least any more than he already was. “We were just getting dressed.”

Zak snorted. “Bullshit. Nick seemed to be very happy naked.”

Ok, well, he couldn’t disagree with that statement. “Yeah, he is very happy naked,” he snorted.

“What’s it like?”

Aaron’s eyebrows rose dramatically. “What’s what like?”

Zak shrugged, not turning to face him, still eyeing the Keno board in front of them. “Being with… with Nick. What’s it like?”

Aaron didn’t know where he wanted to take that question. “Um, well, you see us together all the time. It’s just like that only there’s a little bit more touching involved…”

Zak rolled his eyes. “Not _that_ , bro. What’s _it_ like?”

It had to be the alcohol in his system. Had to be. Zak did not just ask him about sex with Nick. “You mean sex?”

Zak blushed a deep crimson and nodded, still not making eye contact.

_Holy shit, Nick is right_ , Aaron thought. He considered briefly pulling out his cell phone and texting Nick but thought better of it for fear that would make Zak paranoid. Instead, he said, “Well… it’s kinda like being with a girl… but not.”

That made Zak look at him. “That’s descriptive, bro,” he said sarcastically.

“Well, what do you want me to say? I mean, there are different body parts, and you know muscle and he’s a lot stronger. It’s fun, I guess…”

“Fun?” Zak snorted.

Aaron shrugged, hoping the alcohol in his system would help him take control of his conversation. “You’re drunk, Zak. Why are you asking about this?”

Zak cursed as he lost at his game again. “Because I’m fucking drunk and I want to know. So tell me, Aaron.”

Aaron cursed inwardly. Fine. If he wanted to know he’d tell him. “The kisses are stronger, fiercer. His hands are rougher. His body is strong against mine, challenging me more. The way his body moves…” He paused to visualize it, feeling himself get slightly aroused as he talked. “The way his body moves makes me want to touch him more. His moans, the way he sounds, it makes me want to fuck him every night.”

Zak watched him talk. Just sat there and stared. “You’ve gone down on him?”

Aaron nodded. “Numerous times.”

“What’s it taste like?”

Aaron snorted. “It tastes like salty skin… Not much different than a woman.”

“No… I mean… you know what I mean,” Zak said, leaning in closer. “Is the cum different from a woman’s?”

Aaron thought about it for a minute. “Yeah… a bit. A little salty, a little sweet… It’s not awful.”

Zak nodded.

Aaron dared to ask. “Bro, it sounds like you want to try.”

Zak shrugged, turning back to his game. “I was just curious.”

Aaron looked around them. No one was watching them, not even looking in their direction. If he thought about it anymore, he wouldn’t do it, but Zak beat him to it.

A hand fisted in his shirt, yanking him closer, lips descending on his own before he even had time to close his eyes.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zak spends the night at Aaron's house

Zak pulled back, fist still tangled in Aaron’s shirt, a look of complete shock across his face. “Dude… I’m so sorry…”

Aaron shook his head, gently pulling Zak’s hand from his shirt and standing up. “It’s ok, bro. Let’s go. I think it’s time to leave.”

Zak simply nodded and followed behind Aaron, his head down as he walked, thoughts running rampant through his mind. What the hell had he just done? Nick was going to be so _pissed_ and Aaron! He had already walked in on them a few times, and now this! Man, he was in for it.

Aaron hailed a taxi, both of the men too drunk to drive home, and gave the man his address. He took a few seconds to shoot off a text message to Nick that Zak had kissed him and that he was taking him back to his place to talk. Nick quickly responded. _Fuck talking, show him how it’s done!_ Aaron rolled his eyes. Beside him, Zak sat rigid. He could feel the tense energy radiating from across the bench seat.

Long, thin fingers wrapped around Zak’s wrist in the back of the cab. Aaron was half afraid the younger man was going to bolt, and half afraid he’d have a heart attack right there as he felt the beats through the blood vessels beneath his fingers. “Bro, calm down. Your heart is going to pound out of your chest.”

Zak just looked at him, still with a look of mild panic. Aaron suspected that he didn’t realize he was going to kiss him and that this whole interest in sleeping with a man thing really was a shock to him. “I’m cool, bro…,” he said though.

Aaron thought about calling him a liar, but decided against it. It was one of those times that Zak needed coddling. The taxi drove up to Aaron’s house, leaving them in his driveway. “I gotta go home, bro,” Zak said, trying to dig for his keys in his pocket.

Aaron just shook his head. “I think you need to stay here a bit longer,” he said, moving his hand down from his wrist and intertwining their fingers. “Come inside with me.”

Zak’s eyes went impossibly wider as he shook his head, mumbling excuses about having to get up early tomorrow to meet Billy and other nonsense that Aaron knew wasn’t true. Gently he pulled and Zak followed blindly up to the front door and through it. He finally dropped his hand once they were both inside with the door locked behind them.

Zak looked up at Aaron, his eyes still wide and his hands slightly shaking. “What are you going to do to me?”

Laughter was not the response he had expected. “Bro, I’m not going to do anything that you don’t want me to do,” Aaron said as he gently prodded Zak into his living room.

Zak nodded, still a bit unsure of this whole scenario. “I’m drunk, Aaron.”

Aaron nodded at him as they sat on the couch, “Yeah, bro. Me too. I think you should stay here tonight though. You can sleep in the guest room if you want. I think you might want to talk about some things when we’re sober.”

Zak nodded. Yeah he probably would want to talk, but right now he didn’t want to. “I kissed you.” Ok, so his lips betrayed him.

Aaron nodded again. “Yeah, bro. You did.”

A hesitant hand came up and touched his own lips, as if remembering the sensation.

Clearing his throat, Aaron whispered, “Do you want me to kiss you again?”

Zak looked at him and narrowed his eyes. He looked for any hint of playing or mocking but found none. “I think so…”

Aaron nodded and scooted closer to him on the couch. “Close your eyes,” he whispered. Gently, he pulled Zak to him, pressing his lips softly against the pliant pucker of the younger man. He didn’t want to force it, or make any movements that might freak him out, not at this point. Slowly he pulled back, rubbing his thumb over a high cheekbone. “How was that?”

Zak nodded, his eyes still closed, as his tongue ran along his bottom lip, tasting Aaron against it. “More,” he whispered, leaning farther forward, daring to put his hand on Aaron’s thigh to support himself as he leaned.

Aaron smiled, wrapping his hand around the back of Zak’s neck as his lips descended again. This time, Zak started the motion and Aaron let him take the lead. He could feel his phone vibrating in his pocket, no doubt text messages from Nick wanting to know what was going on.

Zak pulled back, breathing deeply. This time he opened his eyes and looked Aaron in the eye. 

“You ok?”

Zak just started before standing up and pacing the room. “I just kissed you again.”

Aaron pulled out his cell phone, checking his messages as Zak wore a path in his carpet, vocally contemplating what was going on. Sure enough, 6 new messages from Nick, alternating between words of encouragement to get Zak into bed and questions on what the hell was going on and that it better be good if he’s not texting him back. He fired back a short message, _Kissed now he’s trying to think it through._

“I need to go home,” Zak said again.

Aaron shook his head. “Nope. You’re staying here tonight. You’re too drunk to drive and I’m too drunk to drive you so you get the option of my bed or the guest bed.”

Zak looked at him horrified. “I can’t sleep in your bed! Nick sleeps there!”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Not tonight he doesn’t. He’s not even here, remember Zak? Do you want to wake up next to me or by yourself?”

“I’m always by myself. I’m tired of being by myself,” he mumbled.

“Okay then, with me it is,” Aaron said, taking Zak’s hand and leading him up the stairs to his bedroom. Reaching his room, he pushed open the door, feeling the resistance in Zak’s arm. “Come on bro, it’s just me. Nothing will happen I swear. I just want to keep an eye on you so you don’t freak out.”

“I’m not gonna freak out, man!”

“You’re freaking out right now!”

Zak scoffed and sauntered into the bedroom just to prove a point. Standing next to the bed, he crossed his arms and looked back at Aaron. “See, totally not freaking out.”

Aaron laughed lightly. “Fine then, strip,” he said, as he pulled his own shirt over his head and dropped his pants to the floor before climbing under the covers.

Zak still hesitated, looking at Aaron under the covers. His jaw worked as his hands paused at the hem of his shirt. 

“Bro, I won’t molest you in my sleep. You still have the option of sleeping in the guest room.”

Huffing, Zak pulled his shirt over his head and dropped his pants. Climbing under the covers next to Aaron, he lay on his back, looking at the ceiling. “This is way more awkward than kissing you, bro.”

Aaron snorted. “It’s not like we haven’t slept in the same bed before. You’ll be fine.”

Propping himself up on one elbow on his side, he turned to look at him. “Can I kiss you like this?”

“Don’t start anything that we shouldn’t do, Zak,” he said warningly.

“What if I want to?” 

It was so quiet that Aaron barely heard it. His conscience nagged at him that they’re both drunk and that it would be inappropriate to take advantage of Zak in such a situation. But at the same time, he knew that this would be the only way Zak would be willing to explore something that had obviously been bugging him for awhile. Running his hands down his own chest as he thought, Aaron sighed. “Ok, we’ll go as far as you want to.”

“What about Nick?”

“He wants me to help you figure this out.”

Zak nodded. “Can I…?” Light fingertips tentatively brushed his stomach. Aaron nodded and pulled the covers away, exposing his body to Zak. The hand laid flat against his stomach, motionless, feeling the gentle rise and fall as he breathed. Slowly, it cautiously traveled up his chest and through the sparse chest hair. “It does feel different.”

Aaron resisted the urge to snort and make a snarky comment but he did file that away to bring up to him later. Of _course_ it was going to feel different, but he tried to think back to his first time with Nick and have patience.

The fingertips descended back down his body, stopping at the waistband of his boxer briefs. Here it was, the do or die time for Zak. Sucking in his breath, Aaron whispered, “You can…” The fingertips continued their descent, ghosting over the growing erection beneath the cotton. 

Quickly the hand was pulled off. “You’re hard!” Zak shrieked.

This time, Aaron couldn’t resist the urge. He snorted, “Well you’re kissing me and touching me, of course I’m getting hard.”

Zak stopped, his breath coming quicker, loud in the quiet room. Without warning, he flopped over on his other side, facing away from Aaron, mumbling a quiet ‘good night.’

Aaron laid there, bare to the room, cock semi hard in his boxers, glaring at Zak’s back. This is why he hated going along with Nick’s ideas about things. Pulling the covers back over himself, he stared at the ceiling fan and willed his hard on to go away.

The afternoon sun shone through the window as Aaron blinked awake, stretching as he lay on his back. A solid weight pressed him down into the bed that groaned as he shifted. Zak’s face nuzzled into his chest, mumbling incoherent words but not waking. Aaron groaned, completely forgetting for a moment why Zak was there, like this, but the headache reminded him. Cautiously, he wrapped his arm around Zak’s nude back, eliciting a quiet, contented sigh. Pulling his phone from the charger, Aaron checked his messages, already knowing that Nick would be on him to know what happened. Sure enough, 36 text messages. Aaron rolled his eyes as he scrolled through them. Responding to the last one, he took a picture that he’ll probably regret, holding the phone above him and Zak. The response from 2500 miles away came quickly. _You fucked him?!_

Aaron resisted laughing and typed out with one hand. _No he freaked out._

_Well damn. Next lockdown._

Aaron sighed. _Let him figure it out don’t force it_

_You take all the fun out of it but fine. Is he ok?_

_Hasn’t woken up yet so I dunno_

Just as Aaron hit sent on his last message, Zak stirred on his chest, slowly rolling over and stretching before opening his eyes. It took a few seconds, but Aaron recognized the mild panic of waking up in a different location. “Bro, don’t freak out,” he said, his voice still rough from sleep.

Zak closed his eyes. “I don’t want to know why I’m in your bed,” his own voice gruff. He sat up, swinging his legs over the side and planting his feet on the floor. “In my boxer shorts with a bitchin’ headache,” he finished.

“We went to a casino and you insisted on drinking,” Aaron told him sitting up, allowing the sheets to pool around his waist.

“I said I don’t want to know, Aaron.”

“And then you kissed me in the casino. And we came back here-“

“Don’t want to _know_ , Aaron,” Zak said again, a little louder this time.

“Tough shit. Because we came back here and we kissed some more and then we came up here, you touched me a little, then turned on your side. Then you just woke up on my chest. That’s what fucking happened, bro. We didn’t _do_ anything, but you have some demons you gotta figure out, man. I can’t be getting dragged into this shit.” Aaron stood up, grabbing some basketball shorts from his drawer before heading towards the door. “You know where the shower is if you want one. I’ll be downstairs making us breakfast.” And he walked out the door, leaving Zak alone to his thoughts.

Fifteen minutes later, Zak was walking down the stairs in the clothes he wore the day before, but his hair was damp from the shower. Pancakes were slapped down in front of him with some eggs. “Hangover food, bro. Drink some water and I put some Advil next to your plate.”

Zak nodded, gladly taking the Advil and downing half the glass of water. Setting the glass back on the table, he watched as Aaron sat across from him, fixing his pancakes, and cutting into them as he read the morning news on his laptop. “Well this is fucking domestic,” he chided. Aaron raised an eyebrow but didn’t even acknowledge he said anything. “Is this what you do for Nick when he visits? Make him breakfast after your sexcapades?”

Aaron dropped his fork and closed his laptop. “Nick and I make breakfast together usually. This whole defense mechanism, with you lashing out at Nick and my relationship isn’t going to work anymore, bro. We’re here for you if you want help figuring out your sexuality, but I’m not willing to take your snarkiness, not about this. And if I were you, I wouldn’t say shit around Nick. He wouldn’t be as nice as I am.” With that, he opened his laptop back up and continued eating.

Zak sighed and looked down at his plate. He didn’t know why it bothered him that Aaron and Nick were together. Ok yes so he obviously had a few things to figure out. Zak cleared his throat as he cut into his pancakes. “I’m sorry, Aaron,” he said softly. Aaron nodded his acknowledgement in between bites. Zak watched him. The man in front of him had changed drastically over the past 10 years. Not only his weight, but his whole personality. He was a happier person, more content with himself spiritually and what they did for a living now. He wondered how much of that was Nick’s influence. Surely Zak didn’t even realize these internal changes were going on. He just offered advice and coaching on exercise and nutrition. “How long have you and Nick been together?”

Aaron shrugged. “A couple years I guess.”

Zak nodded. He was certain Nick had helped this transformation. That made him feel almost guilty, like he had missed out on a huge step for the older man, almost a graduation. “I’m sorry I haven’t noticed you man.”

Aaron nearly snorted over his coffee. “What?”

“You. You’ve changed. You’re a lot bolder now, and more confident in what we do and life in general. I feel like Nick’s had a hand in that and I’ve completely missed it. I didn’t even see it…”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “You’re getting soft, Bagans.”

“Would you have… last night?”

Aaron nodded. “I would have. I told you we would go as far as you were comfortable.”

“What about Nick?”

“Frankly, he’s disappointed we didn’t.” That made Zak laugh. “Bro, seriously. Nick and I would rather you experiment with one of us than some random guy from a bar if you’re curious.”

Zak nodded. “I still have a lot to think about, but thanks.”

An hour later, Aaron was laying on his couch contemplating his plans for the day. Zak had gone home, needing desperately to check on Gracie since he wasn’t sure if his assistant had been around the previous night or that morning. His cell phone vibrated on the table, Nick’s face lighting up the screen. Smiling, he answered the call. “Hey, how’s New Hampshire?”

“Fuck that, Aaron. How’s Zak?”

“Zak’s fine. He went home but I think he’s finally realizing his own bisexuality or whatever it is. He got snarky this morning, bitching more about you and me. I told him to ask one of us to experiment with rather than pick up some random guy at a bar.”

“So you didn’t put it to him last night? And what do you mean he got snarky?”

“Nope. He left me with a case of blue balls that I didn’t really bring up this morning. He was just bitching. I made pancakes and he made a few remarks about you and me and domesticity. He's just bitter I think.”

“Aww, well I can correct those blue balls next week, as well as Zak's snarkiness. He doesn't have any room to judge us now since he's so far in the closet.”

Aaron grinned. He was happy they were able to schedule lockdowns so close to each other this month. “I hope that’s a promise.”

“You know it is. I could help you solve the first problem right now on Skype but I’ve been left in charge of someone.”

“How is my Anna Belly?” Aaron smiled, he loved that kid like it was his own and sometimes he liked to think of weeks where Nick would visit Vegas with her, but he knew that would probably never happen. No matter what Zak thought he knew about their relationship, he would never know everything. Some things were just not meant to be shared.

“She’s good, spoiled as ever. Well I just wanted to call and check in on everything…”

“Are you coming here next week?”

“Nah, I’ll just meet you out there. The flight time was the same. It’s ok though, we’ll still get plenty of time in. Maybe we’ll even invite Zak this time.”

Aaron snorted. He was actually tempted to let Nick handle Zak. That would be a show he might be willing to watch. “Yeah, we could do that. Ok, go spend time with the kid and I’ll talk to you soon.”

“OK. Love you.”

“Love you.”

Aaron thought about warning Zak about Nick’s intentions. He actually seriously considered it. But in the end, surprise is always a better option, especially when the surprisee was such a diva and a dick rolled into one lately.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will he? Won't he?

Zak sat in his home office, Gracie laying by his side, contemplating the night before. He remembered what had happened, he didn’t need Aaron to replay it for him when he woke up. He had kissed him. Flat out. That happened. Zak had initiated it and then freaked out and blew Aaron off. That was probably what bothered him the most. He had been given blue balls before and those incidents had really pissed him off. Maybe that’s why Aaron was so grumpy this morning. Just as he picked up his cell phone to call the older man, it vibrated in his hand, Nick’s picture showing up on the caller ID. “Fuck my life,” he groaned before answering. “Hey, Nick.”

“Hey, Princess.”

“Guess you talked with Aaron.”

“What ever do you mean?” Nick asked, attempting innocence.

“Bro, I know you did. What do you want to bitch at me for? Which part? The part that I kissed your boyfriend multiple times? That I slept in the same bed with him?”

“Neither. I didn’t call to yell at you, actually. I do have a heart, man. I called to see if you’re handling it ok.”

Zak sat silent, playing with a pen on his desk. “I don’t know…”

“You don’t know? I’m going to take that as a ‘no’ then.”

“I feel bad about… you know… I guess teasing Aaron like that. I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” he said honestly.

Nick laughed. “Aaron is fine. I can handle those blue balls but I’m sure you went to bed with a set of your own. Want me to handle those too?”

Zak’s heartbeat picked up slightly. “Nick! Dude!”

Nick’s laugh echoed through the receiver. “Oh, I see. Just got a thing for Aaron. That’s fine, I guess.”

“That’s not it, man! That’s just… so forward.”

“I’m sorry. Do you want dinner and flowers first? We can do that too.”

Zak gawked. Did Nick just round about say they’d go on a date? “A date, bro?”

“We can call it a date if you want.”

_Holy fuck_. Zak’s brain function ceased. “Bro that’s… I dunno… I’m not, at least I don’t think-”

“You’ll be fine. And don’t tell me you’re not interested because obviously you are, man. Why not try a date another with Aaron first. That will be more bi-lite,” he laughed again. “No strings attached.”

“Dude, last night was not a date.”

“Sounded like a date with me. You helped him with his orders, then went walking and hit up the casino and bar, which you paid for, and ended up back at his house. How is that not a date?”

Ok, so he had to give Nick that one. When he put it like that it did sound like a date. “Well… we didn’t mean for it to be a date.”

“Go ask my boyfriend out, Zak. Then take him home and have him help you figure out the male body, or not, but it’s your loss. Either way, I’m taking you out the next time I see you.”

“I think I know the male body,” he snorted.

“Bullshit. See you next week, princess. Bring something nice for our date.”

By the time Zak ended the phone call, he was blushing furiously and Gracie was looking at him. “I’m not gay, Gracie!” he insisted. “Or bi or whatever.” _Go ask my boyfriend out_. That statement was ten kinds of wrong, especially when it involved Nick and Aaron. Pursing his lips, he blew out some air. He needed to think on this one. The best place to think was out in the desert behind the wheel of his car.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aaron turned a lap in his pool, feeling the water shift as his body tumbled under the water before coming back up. He loved the whoosh feeling of the water rushing by him as he swam. It almost gave a feeling of being cradled. Zak had left his house and Nick had things to do today for his gym and with his daughter, leaving him an afternoon of peace and quiet. He did have a shit ton of stuff to do, including going through some of their evidence. Maybe he’d call Billy and ask if he was heading into the office to review or if he was planning on just staying home. Gliding out of the water, he grabbed a towel and dried off before heading into the house. His phone buzzed on the table from the kitchen. Groaning inwardly, he wondered who wanted what now. He was pleasantly surprised to see Nick’s face show up on his caller ID. “Miss me?” he asked as he answered, walking up the stairs to the bathroom.

“Horribly, but that’s not why I called.”

“Oh then you plan on joining me in the shower after my swim?”

There was a pause. “That’s mean.”

“Hey, you’re the one that called right when I got out of the pool!”

Nick snorted. “Yeah, I wanna join you in the shower on our next lockdown, but that’s also not what I called about. Damn Aaron. Don’t distract me like that! I called to tell you that Zak’s gonna ask you out on a date. You gotta say yes.”

“Oh what the hell, Nick?” Aaron asked as he stepped into his bathroom, flinging his swim trunks off and into the hamper. “I’m not going on a date with Zak.”

“I already told him I’d take him on a date when we’re in Illinois on our next lockdown together.”

“You what?!” Aaron sat down naked on the closed toilet lid. “You are not going out on a date with Zak.”

“Why not?”

“Nick…,” he said warningly. This was a conversation he never expected to be having. Was this the plan all along? Get Zak interested and then ditch him? “What about us?”

Nick scoffed. “I didn’t say I was asking him to be my boyfriend. I already have a pretty damn good one of those. I just thought it’d be nice to wine and dine him before I take him back to our bed.”

Aaron ran his hand over his face. “I don’t feel comfortable about that.”

“About what? And you already had a date with him! You already took him to bed.”

“Nick. I don’t…,” he sighed. “Are you doing this because you want to help him figure himself out or because you want to fuck him? Because I’m starting to think you just want to fuck him.”

“Dude, wouldn’t you want Zak underneath you? Don’t you want to get laid more than just the times that you see me? I know you’re lonely bro… and you know I can’t be there all the time.” 

Those words stung more than Aaron would ever admit to. Yes he was lonely and he hated turning his back on Nick in every airport now just so he couldn’t watch him walk away again. But now he was trying to… what? Use Zak as a sexual plaything for the two of them? “Nick, I’m not comfortable with this. Zak needs help to figure out if he’s interested in men. You don’t need to be messing with him like that. If it happens between the three of us, then it happens, but I don’t want to push it. He’s one of my best friends and I don’t want to ruin that. Plus, I like what you and I have. I love you for more than just sex and I hope you love me for the same.” He could practically feel the eyeroll from the other end of the line.

“Aaron, believe me, if it was just for the sex, I wouldn’t be messing with you at all. And I do want to help Zak figure out his sexuality. Sorry if I just get overexcited about it. I always figured he was at least bi so I guess this is just confirming it.”

Aaron sighed. “I’ll think about it. That’s the best I can offer you.”

“Okay, well regardless, I have to figure out something for us to do in Illinois. You wanna come on the date with us? That could be fun.”

“How would that be any different than all the other times we do stuff together?” Aaron snorted.

“We’d all end up back in one hotel room with a happy ending.”

Aaron laughed. “Okay, we’ll talk about this more next week. Maybe Zak will have himself figured out by then.”

&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&

Zak turned left into the gay part of Vegas. He had been over on this side of town a few times, but usually just driving through. This time, he parked and sat in the car, music blaring through his speakers with the windows rolled up. He didn’t know exactly what he was doing here and if anyone caught him he had no idea what he would say, but he knew he wanted to watch. What for, he didn’t know. All around him men and women walked by, some alone, but others were holding hands with same-sex partners. Two men were sharing an ice cream cone, gently kissing in between bites. Two women walked by, hand in hand, apparently having a deep conversation. Slowly, he tried to convince himself that this was considered completely normal to some people and was becoming more and more widely accepted. Did Nick and Aaron ever come down here? Did they have public displays of affection like this? Zak sighed and pulled out his cell phone pulling up the familiar number from his speed dial. Aaron answered on the third ring. 

“Hey, Zak. How are you holding up?”

Zak smiled sheepishly, not wanting to admit where he was or what he had been thinking about. “I think I’m doing all right.”

“Yeah, that’s good.” A loud bang came from Aaron’s end of the phone, sounding like a dropped box.

“What are you doing over there?”

“Just trying to get these orders to the post office before they close. Dropped a friggin box…”

“Oh, well you’re busy… I can call back…”

“Nah, I’m alright. This is the last load. What’s on your mind? You ok?”

Zak sighed. “I was wondering actually if you’d…” He cleared his throat. This was a lot harder than he thought. “I was wondering if you’d like to go to dinner with me tonight.”

Aaron chuckled slightly as Zak heard the jingle of his keys in the door. “You don’t have to ask me out on a date, Zak.”

That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. “Who said it was a date? I was just asking if you wanted dinner. We’ve gone to dinner before together.”

“Ok, fine. _Casual_ dinner then.”

Zak grinned as the butterflies fluttered in his stomach. “Ok, I’ll pick you up at 8,” he said quickly and hung up the phone before Aaron could make a rebuttal remark.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aaron couldn’t believe he was getting dressed to go out with Zak. Normally jeans and an old tshirt would work but now he felt like he had to at least look like he tried. This was like starting to date Nick all over again. Aaron shook his head. He wasn’t going to start thinking about Nick. Tonight was to help Zak and talk him through emotions and stuff. Looking at himself in the mirror, he groaned. _Fuck_ he was going to suck at this. Carefully he trimmed his beard as his cell phone vibrated on the sink next to him. Nick sent him a text message. _Thinking about you. Hope you’re having a good night_. Aaron smiled. Half of him felt like he was cheating. The other half felt slightly liberated and he couldn’t quite explain that. Really, he didn’t want to explain that. Splashing on some aftershave, he grabbed his phone and walked out of his bathroom to get dressed.

Within fifteen minutes, Zak was at his door, complete with cheesy, goofy grin and a bouquet full of daisies. “Seriously bro?” Aaron asked, taking the flowers.

Zak shrugged. “You looked like the daisy type. And it’s really more of an ‘I’m sorry for being a dick last night’ than a romantic gesture.”

Aaron grabbed a glass from his cabinet to put the flowers in since he didn’t have a vase. “You bring girls flowers, bro, but I appreciate it. You don’t have to apologize for last night.”

“Yeah I do. I lead you on and then I didn’t follow through. I feel bad about that.”

Aaron grabbed his wallet from the counter, putting it in his back pocket. “Seriously, dude. I’m not going to push you into anything you’re not ready for. If that was when you needed to stop then that was fine.”

“Stop being such a nice guy, bro,” Zak chided, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. He had taken the time to find a nice button down to put on over dark jeans that he hadn’t worn in years. They were a little less loose than he was used to, but not form fitting, except in the rear. He noticed that Aaron had put on the red vampire shirt Zak had given him with his own slightly tighter pair of jeans. 

Aaron smiled at the heavy scent of Zak’s cologne in the air. He had always liked that smell on him, but never considered it appropriate to tell him… Now seemed to be the best time and he liked the result it gave him. “You smell good, bro. I like that cologne on you.”

A slow blush crept up into Zak’s cheeks and over the tops of his ears as he dug his hands deeper into his pockets. “Thanks,” he mumbled sheepishly. “You look good…,” he almost whispered as he pulled one hand out, reaching over and smoothing the shirt down Aaron’s chest softly. “My shirt looks good on you.”

Aaron resisted the dirty comment that he wanted to make, hard as it was. Instead he took Zak’s hand that had just caressed him, bringing it up to his lips to kiss the back of it gently before interlacing their fingers. “So where are we going for dinner?”

Zak’s mind blanked as soon as Aaron’s lips touched his skin. He stammered, “I thought maybe we could, um, head over to Georgio’s.”

Not dropping Zak’s hand, Aaron thought for a second. “Isn’t that over…?” His eyebrows raised dramatically. “Okay, that’s jumping even farther than Nick and I have gone. Why don’t we start with something simple that is not in the gay district and that won’t potentially end up on TMZ.”

Zak nodded, already figuring Aaron wouldn’t go for that restaurant and, quite frankly, rather enthused that he didn’t. “How about Lucas’ Steakhouse then?”

Aaron nodded, walking them towards the front door. “Yeah, that sounds good. I could go for a nice steak.”

He wasn’t sure what overtook him, but before Zak realized what he was doing, he pulled on Aaron’s arm with their interlaced fingers as they walked to the door, bringing the older man closer to him. Gently, he placed his other hand on the slim hip before kissing him softly. “Thanks for going out with me tonight.”

Aaron cleared his throat, a flash of something Zak didn’t recognize in his eyes. “You’re supposed to save that for after the not-date,” he said before turning back around and opening the door. “You suck at being the girl.”

“ _What?!_ ” Zak screeched following him out the door and to his car. “Who says _I’m_ the girl? And we’re totally taking my car. I cleaned the Bentley for this.”

Aaron snorted. “You cleaned your fancy car for our not-date?”

“Whatever, man. Just get in.”

Aaron grinned as he sat in Zak’s car. He had been in it numerous other times but for some reason tonight felt different. On the ride down towards the Strip, both men let their strange thoughts about this evening and its expectations drop. They easily sidled into their usual conversation patterns, goofiness and video making. Bright lights passed by them, already preparing for the masses of people the Strip nightlife would attract.

The valet thought nothing of the two men getting out of the car and standing dangerously close together as they approached the host, who immediately recognized them, to be seated. At a dark enough booth in the back, the two men grinned at each other. They were far enough away and out of sight of the front door for people to not recognize them, and they figured the area was dark enough that they couldn’t be recognized from a distance. “No alcohol tonight,” Zak mumbled before the waiter could get to their table. Aaron simply nodded his agreement. Dinner went smoothly, just like it would have had anyone else been with them though not nearly as rambunctious or troublesome without their group. The butterflies returned to Aaron’s stomach as the check was dropped off and Zak dove for it, insisting upon paying to make up for the night before. “Zak, dude, you don’t have to keep apologizing to me for every little thing. We’re totally cool.”

Zak just shrugged as the waiter walked off with his credit card. “I know, but I want to.”

Aaron watched the people around them as they waited for the waiter to come back. It was nice to be anonymous in Vegas still, but especially tonight. He thought about tonight, about Nick… about Zak. Nick was so far away. He had left him physically, but Aaron stayed in the relationship, willing to try the long distance thing. But Zak was here. He turned back and looked across the table at Zak as he signed the receipt, pocketing his credit card again. Cocking his head to the side, he missed waking up with someone by his side and Nick could never give him that. The wife was always waiting. _Always._

Zak smiled at him sheepishly from across the table when he realized he was being stared at. “Want to come back to my place?” he asked as casually as he could muster.

Aaron smiled and nodded. The ride back to Zak’s house was quiet, both men feeling the anticipation and wondering if the other was going to go through with it. Aaron laughed inwardly to himself, thinking that he remembered feeling like this in high school when he would get his girlfriends in the car and drive them out to the lake. Being alone with Zak and this expectation… The anticipation of sex with him was making him fluttery and nervous inside, even more so than it did his first time with Nick. Staring out the window as the bring lights receded into darkness the farther they drove from the strip, Aaron wondered what kind of mess he had gotten himself into and how the hell he was going to dig himself out of it- or if he even would.

Between the car and the front door, Zak dropped his keys twice. Had Aaron not been thinking about what his next move would be, he would have had a smartass comment to make and he regretted not being on his game with that. Once inside, Zak deposited his keys and wallet on the counter, shoving his hands in his pockets as he turned around. Aaron greeted Gracie as she trotted up to him, tail wagging. “Want to play a video game?”

Aaron shook his head, standing up straight. “No,” he said, holding his hand out. Zak took it and Aaron pulled him close. The butterflies in his stomach went into a straight spiral down to his groin. “No, I don’t want to play a game.” Wrapping his arms around the thin waist, he pulled Zak against him as hands found their way to the back of his shoulders. His lips descended down, pressing gently before his tongue prodded, begging for entry. Zak whined slightly into the kiss as his grip tightened on Aaron’s shoulders, his body pressing impossibly closer. Gracie barked at them from by the pool table, impatiently expecting a game. Zak broke the kiss to turn back and look at her, telling her to hush as Aaron’s lips latched onto his neck, biting, licking and nibbling his way up to his ear to whisper, “Bedroom?”

“Yeah,” came the breathless response. Together, they ascended the metal staircase. Zak’s heartbeat hard in his chest. Aaron closed the door behind them, leaving them in the darkness. Reaching over onto the nightstand, Zak turned on the light, standing stiffly in front of Aaron.

“Are you ok?” Aaron asked, stepping cautiously closer. He was nervous about going too fast, but damn, something needed to happen tonight.

Zak disrobed in three seconds flat, leaving Aaron stunned in front of him as he now stood naked before him. Aaron blinked twice before taking his own clothes off, discarding them on the floor. Both men stood there, staring at each other, suddenly scared to make the next move. Zak shook his head, wrapping his arms around his chest self-consciously, “No… no I’m not ok.”


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh so he did...

Aaron pulled Zak closer to him by his elbows. “Hey, it’s just me,” he said softly, taking Zak’s hands from his chest and putting them on his own. “See, it’s just me. No matter what happens tonight, I’m still going to be here with you tomorrow.”

Zak nodded, his body slackening slightly as he let himself touch the warm chest in front of him, running his fingers through the sparse hair. Aaron let him explore slowly, allowing the soft, nimble fingers free reign. A small smirk formed at the side of Zak’s mouth as the muscles twitched under his too-light touch. Gently, Aaron took the hands as they reached his stomach, bringing them down around his waist, pulling the two men together. “Ok, I have to draw the line at things that tickle.”

Zak grinned, digging his fingers into Aaron’s side making him squirm and grunt under his touch, but still trapped in the strong circle of Zak’s arms. Aaron twisted, trying to get out of the strong grasp and away from the menacing fingers. Instead of escaping, he managed to knock Zak off balance, causing them both to fall on the bed with an umph. In the surprise position change, Aaron was able to wrestle Zak’s hands above his head, with a knee in between his legs. “No tickling,” he whispered, breathless above him.

Zak’s blue eyes bored holes into him, challenging him as he struggled underneath the older man. It was a show, Aaron knew. He could flip them in a heartbeat if he really wanted to, but he was successful at keeping his hands above his head as he shifted his position, straddling the narrow hips and grinding his hard cock against the half-hard one beneath him. Dark eyelashes fluttered against tan skin as a soft moan escaped his pale pink lips. “Fuck that feels good,” he groaned. Aaron smiled, continuing the slow movement of his hips, feeling the cock swelling against his own. Slowly he bent down, dragging wet lips down the side of his neck before gently nipping at the tendon on his shoulder. Soft moans emanated from the man writhing beneath him with each roll of his hips. Carefully, Aaron ran his hands down Zak’s arms, sitting up to watch his face as he continued his movements. “Like that?” he grunted.

Dark blue eyes stared up at him from under long lashes. Zak nodded as his hands went to Aaron’s hips, starting to answer the movements with his own. In a single swift motion, Aaron landed on his back, Zak balancing menacingly above him. For a slight moment, he panicked, wondering just what was going to happen, but instinct had taken over in the stronger man. Leaning down, Zak caged him in with his body, large arms surrounding him as cock slid against cock with burning friction. “Do you have any lube or lotion?” Aaron asked. He should have thought to put some in his pocket, but how awkward that could have been if it had fallen out at the restaurant or in the car.

It took a minute to register in Zak’s head what Aaron had wanted before he nodded and reached over in the dresser drawer, pulling out a small bottle of lotion. “Do we need a condom? What are we-“

Aaron shook his head. “No, we’re not going that far tonight,” he said, taking the lotion from Zak and squirting a small amount in his hand. Gently, he reached between their bodies, taking Zak’s cock in his hand and stroking is slowly, spreading the lotion over the smooth skin. Hips bucked against him as fingers curled in the sheets next to his head. Aaron smiled before kissing him as he stroked, “Like my hand on your cock?”

“Fuck you, Aaron, give me that lotion,” he groaned, spreading some on his own hand before sitting up. He hesitated slightly before wrapping his hand around Aaron’s cock. Sitting still for moment, he held it in his hand, running his thumb up the underside, as if feeling it out, figuring out if this was ok or not. Aaron’s body tensed with pleasure as Zak’s soft hand started moving. Hands flung to his hips as he picked up speed, watching his lover’s facial expressions with each twist of his hand.

“Zak, stop,” Aaron grunted, trying to knock the hand off.

Zak dropped his cock like it suddenly caught fire. “Did I hurt you? I’m sorry!”

Aaron grinned, flipping them back over, resting his head on Zak’s strong shoulder. “No, I was about to cum and I don’t want to do it like that,” he laughed breathlessly. Gently, he kissed the salty skin on his shoulder as he fought off completion, Zak’s hands running down his back.

“I almost made you cum?” he whispered.

The kisses moved up his neck to his mouth. “Yeah, you did.” He was met with a ferocity that he saw in lockdown when Zak was amped with adrenaline. Hands tightened on his back, bringing hips down against his own. Aaron grunted as he felt teeth nip at his lip; every nerve ending in his body was on fire as their bodies moved against each other, the forming sweat making their movements easier. The room heated around them, the sound of skin hitting skin and soft grunts mixed with words of encouragement from both men was their soundtrack. Aaron was thankful that Zak didn’t have long nails as his hands raked at his back and against his asscheeks.

“Aaron,” Zak whispered. He knew what that meant. He felt the muscles tensing quickly in his legs as they rutted.

Aaron nuzzled Zak’s ear, sucking on his earlobe as the grip on his back tightened. “Cum with me, Zak.” That’s all it took as his back arched slightly off the bed, his legs tensing as his cock spasmed between them. Aaron followed quickly after, dropping his sweat coated body down against Zak’s.

As his heartbeat returned to normal, he slowly slid off of Zak, going into the bathroom and retrieving toilet paper to wipe them both off with. Gently he wiped Zak’s stomach, noticing slight bruising around his hips and a hickey forming on his shoulder. After tossing it out, he returned to the bed, sliding in next to Zak. “You ok?” he asked.

“That’s what makes you so fucking special,” he whispered, still staring at the ceiling.

Aaron snorted. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Zak stood up and stretched, his nude body on full display in the dim light of the bedside lamp. Aaron rolled on his side to watch him walk around the room collecting their clothes and laying them on the chair in the corner of the room. He walked back, motioning for Aaron to get up so he could pull down the covers. Before climbing in the bed, Zak turned to him. “Stay the night?”

Aaron shrugged. “I have no way home without you.”

Zak grinned, pulling him into the bed and turning out the light. “Good, then you’re staying.”

Aaron smiled into the darkness as Zak rolled on his side, and he draped an arm over him, pulling him into his body. Running his hand down his side, he whispered, “You’re beautiful, Zak.”

Zak smiled into his pillow, not really knowing what to say back. He settled for interlacing their fingers over his stomach and closing his eyes.

Aaron was the first to wake up the next morning, Gracie scratching and whining at the door. Carefully he uncoiled himself from Zak, throwing his boxers and pants on before walking out the door to take her outside. Sitting on the back porch, he pulled out his cell phone. He scrolled through the orders in his hotmail account before turning to his texts. The last one from Nick was a sucker punch to the gut. _Love you. Good night._

Regardless of whether Nick told him to bed Zak or not, he felt like he had just cheated. Checking the time he knew it would be 5am on the east coast. He sighed, debating on what to write, deciding to just be honest. _Woke up at Zak’s place this morning._

Gracie brought a ball over to him, dropped it at his feet so he picked it up, tossing it for her a few times before his cell vibrated in his hand. _What happened?_

Aaron ran his hand over his bald head. Gracie rested her head on his knee, apparently realizing that the game was over for now. _Took him to bed. He's not up yet._

The response was delayed. Aaron’s heart sped up slightly, almost terrified at what he was going to say. _Was it good? Did you fuck him?_

_Yes it was good. No just dry humped_

_Didn’t freak?_

Aaron laughed, walking back inside with Gracie and pouring some food into her bowl. _Nah but he's still asleep_. He sighed. _I feel like I cheated on you he typed and quickly hit send before thinking twice about it._

The response came quickly as he trudged back up the stairs. _You did but its ok. I wanted you to. Its Zak._ Aaron nodded to himself. Yeah, it’s Zak… but it’s _Zak_. Who is here, and warm, and now maybe willing.

_Going back to bed_ he texted before dropping his phone back in his pocket. Returning to the bedroom, he dropped his pants and draped them back over the chair, climbing back into bed behind Zak. He was met with a grunt as the younger man rolled over, laying his head on his chest. “You ok?” Aaron asked.

Zak grunted again before answering, “Yeah. Have to pee but I don’t want to move.”

Aaron chuckled. “Well don’t pee on me.” He poked his side. “Get up and go.”

Zak grumbled before rolling over and shuffling into the bathroom naked. Aaron lay in the bed, hands behind his head, thinking. Did he love Nick? Of course he did or he wouldn’t even be still with him. But Zak? This was new and different, and could be exciting. He tried to remind himself that this wasn’t a relationship they were building. It was temporary. Zak would go off and find himself a discrete boyfriend and things would go back to the way they were. And that’s the way it should be.

Coming back from the bathroom, Zak smirked, climbing back in the bed and straddling Aaron’s body. “You put on your boxers?”

He shrugged. “I took Gracie outside.”

Soft hands traced down his chest to the waistband, pulling it down slightly. One hand moved farther south, cupping his soft cock through the cotton and massaging gently. Aaron sucked in his breath, eyes never leaving Zak’s face as his hands explored. The blue eyes were soft as they watched his work, face slightly tense as he experimented with touches. Aaron lifted his hips, a cue that he knew from Nick. Zak smirked, moving the boxers down his legs. Crawling off the bed, he pulled the cotton off his feet and threw them on the floor. Climbing back on the bed on all fours, he placed a soft kiss on the toned stomach beneath him. “Zak, don’t,” Aaron whispered.

“Want to,” he said, before licking the half hard cock. Aaron’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head as Zak’s tongue flicked around the head before taking it in his mouth and sucking gingerly. The tongue flicked again and Aaron’s hips twitched.

“ _Fuck_ , Zak,” he groaned, resisting the urge to twine his fingers in the dark hair, instead fisting them in the sheets.

Zak groaned around the weight against his tongue, exploring with the movements, alternating gentle and hard sucks. Running his hands up Aaron’s legs, he held the hips still as he slowly started to bob before gagging himself. Popping off, he coughed slightly. “Fuck that’s hard.”

Aaron moved to push him off with his hand, but Zak caught it and put it on the back of his head before dipping down and taking the cock back in his mouth. Aaron watched, fisting his hand in the dark hair like he had wanted to, watching his cock disappear into the wet warmth. “That feels so good,” he grunted.

Zak just hummed his approval, slowly getting the hang of the motion as his thumbs rubbed circles on the slim hips.

“Gonna cum,” Aaron grunted, trying to pull Zak off, but he resisted. “Fuck, Zak, don’t over do it.”

“Wanna taste,” he mumbled as he flicked his tongue over the head again, before diving down again.

Aaron’s body tensed as he felt his cock head hit the back of his throat and he erupted. Zak gagged as the hot streams of cum hit the back of his throat. Sitting up, he wiped his mouth, still coughing. 

Aaron’s eyes were closed. He didn’t want to look at Zak. He couldn’t. “Are you ok?” he asked instead. He felt the younger man get up to head towards the bathroom and turning on the water. The sound of him spitting in the sink could be heard over the strong stream. Seconds later he came out, a toothbrush still in the package thrown on Aaron’s chest. “I’m fine,” he said before he shoved his own in his mouth.

Aaron lay in the bed and stared at the ceiling, suddenly feeling exposed and not knowing why. He stood up and grabbed his discarded boxers from the floor before heading into the master bath and grabbing the toothpaste. Opening up the toothbrush he told Zak, “You didn’t have to do that.”

Zak shrugged before spitting into sink and rinsing out his mouth. “I told you, I wanted to.” He snapped the waistband of Aaron’s boxers before walking out of the bathroom. “Let’s go get breakfast.”

Aaron looked at himself in Zak’s mirror silently wondering what kind of hell he was going to.

Later that day, Aaron grumbled to himself as he filled boxes with orders, handing them over to Zak to put labels on. The man was clingy as hell. He wondered if it was because he was scared or if he was thinking that now they were… what? Dating? In a relationship? No, Zak knows better than that.

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he didn’t even look at the caller ID before answering. “Hello?”

“Hey,” came Nick’s smooth voice.

Aaron instantly tensed and looked over at Zak. That feeling of cheating crept back up his spine. “Hey,” he said. “How was your day?”

Zak looked over at him. “Nick?” he mouthed at him.

Aaron nodded and Zak quietly left the room. “It was good. Got some stuff done today for the gym, took Anna to her ballet class, jacked off thinking about you.”

Aaron smirked. “Well, as long as that’s a part of your day…”

“Every day. How was Zak this morning?”

Looking to where the younger man disappeared, Aaron moved to put more distance and a closed door between them. He knew Zak and he knew he would be listening. “Nick, I don’t know what’s going on, man.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I went back upstairs this morning he sucked me off and he hasn’t left my side the whole day.”

Nick laughed softly on the other end of the phone. “So he’s clingy.”

“Yeah,” he said, rubbing a hand over his head. “I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m cheating on you and that he’s… I don’t know… going to get attached to me like that now.”

“Aaron, it’s ok, bro. It’s Zak. If you want to invite him into our relationship, you can.”

Those words shocked him. Invite him into the relationship? “What?”

Nick sighed. “I’ve thought about this. I love you, and I don’t like leaving you after every lockdown. If you had someone there, I think you’d be happier, but I’m not willing to let you go.”

“You’ve thought about this? You’ve been trying to set me up with Zak? The fuck, Nick? I thought this was to help Zak figure himself out!”

Nick grumbled, “It _is_ to help him but Aaron-“

“No, that’s wrong. What about us? I’m happy with us.”

“I’m happy with us too, I just don’t want you to be wanting and I can’t deliver.”

“Nick, if you think I can’t control my urges when I’m without you, then we shouldn’t even be in a relationship.”

“Aaron, you know I still have sex with my wife.”

Quickly, he hit the ‘end call’ button before he could hear anything else. He never liked thinking that Nick still fucked his wife and then him on the road. Now he had to throw that in his face with the prospect of Zak practically on his hip the whole day?

“Everything ok?” Zak’s voice came softly through the door.

“Go home, Zak,” he said meaner than he intended. Instantly he regretted the words, throwing open the door to Zak, both hands on the door frame.

“Did you fight about me?” he asked.

“Kind of, but not the way you think.”

Zak nodded. “Do you really want me to go?”

Aaron brushed passed him into the living room. “I don’t know,” he said. “Everything is a little fucked up right now.”

Zak nodded again, crossing his arms over his chest, just watching the older man. Casually, he walked over to the tv, turning it on and pulling up the recorded movies menu. “Let’s order Chinese and watch Tron. Then we can talk about it if you want to.”

In spite of himself, Aaron smiled and relented, sitting next to Zak on the couch. Before thinking better about it, he threw an arm over the younger man’s shoulders, feeling him settle into his side as he rested a hand on his leg. Kissing the side of his head before resting his own against it, Aaron breathed in the scent that was distinctly Zak. They had less than a week before the next lockdown. He wondered silently as the movie started playing and Zak dialed their favorite Chinese delivery just what could happen in that time to fuck things up even more.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh Zak, shame on you. (yeah I've given up on descriptions)

Nick tried to call several times the next few days, but Aaron didn’t answer and Zak knew that. He was usually there when he called and Aaron’s face would grow pained or angry or some combination of the two before he hit the silent button. Sometimes, he would hit the reject button, feeling a small sense of satisfaction in that. Zak couldn’t help but feel conflicted as he watched the emotions play across Aaron’s expressive face, but they never spoke about it. Neither knew how to bring up what was possibly happening between them and neither wanted to face the demon that was Aaron’s feelings for Nick. 

Four days after Aaron had hung up on Nick, they lay in Aaron’s bed wrapped in each other’s arms. Zak’s eyes closed as a strong hand stroked his back, fingers dancing over the soft, almost feminine curve at the base of his spine. In three days they would fly to their next location and face Nick. Aaron tried not to tense as he thought about the possible interaction that would ensue. Nick could be flat out fierce when he was pissed about something so he had always made a point not to piss off the younger man. Zak however had a flair for it but had always been forgiven. It would most certainly be awkward, especially given the impending ‘date’ that Nick had promised to take Zak on. As his fingers danced over the clothed back, knowing the outline of the winged tattoo beneath the cotton by heart, he wondered if that would even happen at this point. He felt the heavy body on top of him sink into slumber. Deep in thought, he didn’t hear the click of the door from downstairs.

“Well isn’t this a happy little scene?”

Aaron sat straight up in the bed as Nick dumped his suitcase off in the corner of the room, crossing his arms over his chest menacingly. Zak startled awake, trying to right himself to keep from falling off the bed.

“Is this why you haven’t been answering my phone calls?”

Zak blinked twice, running his hand over his face, knowing he had been caught. “Hey… Nick,” he said sleepily.

Aaron stood up from the bed. “Bro… I didn’t know you’d come.”

Nick shrugged, eyes still on Zak on the bed. “You didn’t answer any of my calls. What was I supposed to do?”

Zak stood up. “I should go.”

“Yeah, Zak, maybe you should,” Nick said snarkily.

“Dude, you’re the one that was pushing us together.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t mean for you to steal my fucking boyfriend,” he yelled. Turning to Aaron, his muscles unconsciously flexed, “Did you fuck him in that bed?”

Zak’s own muscles flexed as he grew defensive. “We haven’t fucked and you’re the one that wanted us to! What the fuck, bro?!”

“Zak, I’ll call you later, just go,” Aaron said, trying to step in between them.

“Yeah, Zak, go _home_ ,” Nick sneered.

Zak snorted but left the room. Seconds later they heard the front door slam shut.

“Dude,” Aaron said, throwing his hands in the air. He didn’t know what else to say. He was surprised Nick was here, happy but upset at the same time. 

Nick’s bravado immediately fell once Zak had left. “So is this it?” he asked quietly.

Aaron sat on the bed, dejected, elbows on his knees, looking down at his feet. “I don’t want it to be.”

Nick nodded, still standing stiffly in front of him. 

“How did you get away?”

Nick shrugged, finally slackening, taking off his shoes and sitting next to Aaron on the bed. “I told her there was an issue in the group that we needed to resolve before the next lockdown and I couldn’t do it over the phone.” Aaron chuckled slightly. It wasn’t even a lie. “So, I guess Zak really settled into being bi.”

Aaron shrugged, scooting back on the bed and laying down, motioning for Nick to lay next to him. Nick lay down, pulling the older man to lay against him. Aaron sighed at the familiarity, closing his eyes into the warmth. “He hasn’t settled into much. He just knew that I was upset. We haven’t even done anything remotely sexual since that first night.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just…,” he sighed. “I just didn’t want you to be lonely and I thought maybe having Zak would help.”

“Then why did you bust in here and throw Zak out?”

Nick smiled, clutching Aaron’s body closer to him. “I didn’t like seeing you here with him like that.”

Aaron raised up on his elbow to look at him, smirking. “You were jealous.”

Nick pulled him down, kissing him softly. “Horribly. Maybe pushing you two together wasn’t a good idea.”

“Yeah, but it’s done now. You need to talk to Zak.”

Nick grumbled and pulled the thin body down on top of him. “I don’t want to. Not right now at least.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “I didn’t mean right now.”

“I’m sorry for being a dick. I really just want you to be happy.”

“You moving back here would make me happy, not having someone else in my bed.”

Nick snorted. “I wish I could. Miss being here. Right here, in this bed with you,” he said, running his hands up under the cotton of Aaron’s t-shirt on his back.

“I miss having you in my bed.” Aaron smiled as he bent down, capturing Nick’s lips with his own. Their beards scratched together as they kissed, creating a kind of warm friction between them as the passion intensified.

Aaron moaned as Nick flipped them easily, laying him down on his back and stripping him naked quickly. Watching as his younger lover settled in between his legs, a small hint of a thought of Zak flashed through his mind. As soon as the first finger breached him, however, those thoughts disappeared and the other man was but a distant memory.

&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&~&

Zak kicked his chair across the patio, sending Gracie into the grass to get away from her angry and frustrated owner. Staring at his Buddha, he snorted. “A lot of help _you_ turned out to be. I thought you were supposed to bring the mellow into my life.” Though his life had been mellow these past few days, he had to admit. Being with Aaron… like _that_ … and just being that close to him calmed him. Maybe it was the knowledge that Aaron shared his demons and knew what he faced on a daily basis. Maybe it was just being close to someone else that he trusted when it’s been so long since he was able to completely relax like that with someone. Or maybe… maybe it was something deeper, something he wasn’t quite willing to explore yet.

Running his hands over his face, wondering just how the hell he got dragged into this nonsense. And what the fuck was wrong with Nick?! He insisted that Zak ask Aaron out on a date, and Aaron told him that Nick was insisting they have sex. Then he hurts Aaron in a single phone conversation and Zak gets thrown out of his house for doing exactly what Nick wanted them to do? The _fuck_? Zak upended a chair, the destruction temporarily relieving some of his anger but it wasn’t enough. Grabbing his keys, he headed for the door. A visit to the gym and some heavy weight lifting was in order. He needed the muscle fatigue right now. It was either that or go drinking. He sneered. He could go to a gay bar and pick up some random guy and bring him back to his house. That would fuck them both over. How dare Aaron throw him out of his house after the way Nick treated him? 

Calling Gracie inside, he ran up to the shower. He liked his plan. He wasn’t worried about the consequences of it. Aaron and Nick had opened this door and he was going to walk through it.

An hour later, Zak wandered into a brightly lit establishment on the other side of town. It was still early so there weren’t many people around. The bouncer hadn’t even shown up yet to man the door. Sitting down at the bar, he saw the familiar flash of recognition in the bartender’s eyes but he didn’t let on that he recognized the dark haired man. “Hey stranger,” the bartender said instead. “What can I get for you?”

Zak flashed his famous smile and ordered a Heineken. The bartender poured the bottle into a cold glass and set it in front of him. Zak opened a tab and glanced around the bar. There were only a handful of other people in there, none of them seemed interested in this stranger that walked into their midst, but the bartender kept casting glances his way. Zak eyed him: blond, well built, dark brown eyes, tanned, young. Very young. But he had to be over 21 to tend the bar. Zak’s eyebrow raised as he considered this option. Apparently he was staring rather hard because the man started over to him. “Everything ok?” he asked.

Zak smiled and nodded. He whispered, “You know who I am.”

The bartender blushed and nodded. “I don’t want to be rude and I know it’s stepping out of line in my job, but um… do you know what kind of bar you’re in?”

Zak smiled down at his beer. “Yeah, I’m fully aware. We all have our secrets.”

The bartender just smiled and nodded. “We’re very discrete here.”

“What’s your name?” Zak was beginning to feel bold. This stranger was checking him out as Zak rested his strong arms on the bar, flexing his muscles slightly.

“Derrick,” he said.

“You have beautiful eyes, Derrick,” Zak said, leaning slightly across the bar. _They look like Nick’s_ , he thought.

The young man blushed, looking away before setting his eyes back on Zak. “Well you certainly are charming, Mr. Bagans.”

Zak’s cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He tapped it, turning off the annoying sensation. Shrugging, Zak leaned back, allowing the young man a full view of his chest in his purposely chosen tight t-shirt. “I only speak the truth.”

Another man walked in the bar, sitting down at the other end. “Excuse me while I serve this customer,” Derrick said, walking away with a short peak back over his shoulder.

Zak smiled as he watched him walk. Men were as easy as women apparently. Reaching down, he pulled out his phone. The missed call was from Nick. He grumbled silently as he hit the voicemail icon. “Hey Zak, it’s Nick. I’m sorry for being a dick earlier. I was just frustrated because Aaron wasn’t answering my calls. I’m sorry, man. Just… give me a call back.” Zak texted a quick “Go to hell” before setting his phone back on the bar to watch Derrick bend over the ice machine. Within seconds it buzzed again, this time a text message from Aaron. _Where are you?_

Zak snorted, answering _Bar_.

_Bar where?_

_The Pink Flamingo_ He knew that would get them, but he wasn’t quite expecting the response he got.

_We’re on our way._

Zak cursed as Derrick made his way back over, another Heineken in his hand. The beer was placed in front of him as the younger man leaned over the bar. “This one’s on me.” Smirking, he gladly accepted the drink. If they were going to come here, they would see him flirting with this young, hot stranger. What kind of reaction would _that_ get.

His phone buzzed on the bar again. Derrick looked down at it and then back up at Zak. “Boyfriend?”

Zak snorted. “No. I don’t have one.”

Derrick raised an eyebrow as he smiled seductively. “Well that’s a shame.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“Maybe you should answer that then.”

“If it was my boyfriend you wouldn’t want me to answer it?” Zak smirked, picking up his phone. It was Nick asking him why in the hell he was at a gay bar.

“Hmm, I didn’t say that…”

Zak smiled, setting his phone back down on the bar without responding. “You didn’t have to.”

Twenty minutes later, Nick and Aaron strode into the bar. Derrick straightened up from where he was standing in front of Zak, clearly feeling caught flirting with their lead investigator. “Your entourage is here,” he whispered.

Zak turned around, three beers in at this point and starting to feel pretty good. Nick looked furious. They flanked him at the bar, Derrick taking a step back as Nick glared at him. “Can I get you guys anything?” he asked cheerily.

Aaron shook his head. “Can we just get our friend’s tab here?”

Derrick nodded, casting a glance at Zak before walking over to the register.

“What the fuck are you doing, Zak?” Nick hissed.

Zak looked at him. “You’re the one that wanted me to be interested in men so here I am.”

“Were you planning on going home with some random guy? What the hell Zak?” Aaron started in on his other side.

Zak whirled on him and sneered, “Well Derrick gets off at 8 so I was planning on taking him home with me, so yeah I was.”

Nick laid forty bucks on the bar, standing up off the barstool. “Ok, it’s time to go. We need to have a conversation.”

Zak scoffed, taking a drink from his beer. “I’m fine right here.”

“Everything ok, guys?” Derrick said, laying the bill down in front of Zak. 

Nick threw the money he laid on the bar on top of the bill. “Keep the change. We’re just here to take our friend home. He got a little lost.”

Zak snorted but sent an apologetic look up at Derrick. “Not lost. I know exactly where I am.”

“Look, we don’t want any trouble at this bar,” Derrick said, backing up slightly.

“There won’t be any if he’ll get up off his ass and come with us,” Nick said, leaning close to Zak’s ear.

Zak grumbled, standing up from the bar, giving Derrick one last look before turning around. “Fine, let’s go.”

“Give me your keys,” Aaron said as they emerged into the dwindling sunshine.

“No, I’m not drunk, Aaron. I can drive just fine.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “I’m not worried about you being drunk. I’m worried about you speeding away from us.”

Zak tossed him his keys and walked with Nick over to Aaron’s SUV. Climbing into the passenger’s side, he immediately felt like a little kid in trouble. Nick’s muscle flexed as he gripped the steering wheel. “What were you thinking, Zak? That kid could immediately call TMZ and out you. He could have taken a picture with his cell phone and posted it everywhere.”

Zak shrugged. “He said it was a discrete bar. And he was good looking.”

Nick sighed, some of the anger leaving his body. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I just… I was jealous and it was uncalled for.”

“He had your eyes.”

Nick was caught off guard. “The bartender?”

Zak nodded, his hands playing with the inseam of his jeans.

Coming up to a stoplight, Nick glanced over at Zak, his shirt was far too tight on him, his hair was done like he was going to film, and he was pouting- a look Nick never could resist. Fuck was he even… “Are you wearing lip gloss?”

Zak sulked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Nick chuckled silently. He knew him. Zak was pissed because he got caught and he was defensive because he was yelled at. Reaching his hand across the console, he rubbed the inside of Zak’s thigh. “Well, you are leaving the bar with two men tonight. Look at _that_ luck.”

Zak snorted, batting Nick’s hand away, but it stayed upturned on the console. “You don’t want me.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked as he pulled onto the highway, checking the rearview mirror to make sure Aaron was behind him in Zak’s Bentley.

“I know you and Aaron are together. I didn’t mean to get in between you two.”

Nick shrugged. “It was my fault to make you feel that way. You weren’t getting in between us. I was just jealous because I knew Aaron was spending so much time with you and ignoring me because I’m an insensitive asshole.”

Zak laughed. “You are an insensitive asshole. So what did you say that hurt him so bad?”

“He never told you?” Zak shook his head, finally taking Nick’s offered hand and interlacing their fingers. “I told him that I’m still sleeping with my wife.”

“That’s cold bro.”

Nick nodded. “I know. It’s true, but uncalled for and I paid the price.”

“You really hurt him, man. He’s been grumpy the past four days. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve had to sit through Tron for you?”

Nick laughed, squeezing Zak’s hand. This was what he had been hoping for- this three way kind of relationship. He wanted them to be easy with each other, just like they were as friends, but with a little bit more benefits thrown in. “I appreciate it, man. I do. Aaron means a lot to me. So do you.”

Zak looked out the window, mumbling under his breath, “Yeah you guys mean a lot to me too.” Turning back to Nick he asked, “Is Aaron still pissed at you?”

Nick shrugged. “Not really. We talked but what I said was still inappropriate and you know Aaron. He’ll keep thinking about it.” Zak nodded, looking back out the window.

Pulling into Aaron’s driveway, Zak grumbled. “Why can’t I just go home?”

Nick let go of his hand so they could get out of the car as Aaron pulled into the driveway behind them. “I told you, because we need to have a conversation.”

“We had a conversation in the car. I’m fine. We’re fine.”

Aaron got out of the car, pocketing Zak’s keys. “Inside,” he said.

Zak rolled his eyes like he was a teenager in trouble with his parents. “Ok fine. I’m sorry for going to the gay bar. I’m sorry for possibly ruining our show.”

Aaron just pointed towards the house as he felt Nick’s hands on his back gently pushing him towards the door.

Once inside the house, Zak immediately went to sit on the sofa, feeling like he was going to be yelled at. Nick and Aaron sat down next to him, Nick looking at Aaron to start. “We don’t want you to be confused,” he said. “Nick and I are together, and we love each other.”

“But I’m gone a lot since we moved to the east coast. And we… um…,” Nick ran his hands over his hair, looking at Aaron for help.

“Zak, would you like to date us?”

Zak blinked at them. “What?”

Nick blushed a deep crimson. “You’re our third. Do you want to um, be with us?”

Zak’s eyebrows raised dramatically. “Um…”

“You don’t have to answer right now. Just think about it,” Aaron said.

Nick smirked, “And I still owe you a date anyways.”

Zak stood up from the sofa. “Well this has been sufficiently awkward. I’d like to go home now.”

Aaron fished in his pants pocket and produced his keys, handing them over. Zak walked briskly out of the room heading for the front door as Nick hollered, “At least think about it!” The door slammed without a response.

“What do you think he’ll say?” Aaron asked Nick.

Nick shrugged. “Who knows? It’s Zak. No one really knows what goes on in his head.”

Zak sped out of Aaron’s neighborhood the few short blocks over to his own, their words rolling through his head. Be in a relationship with his two best friends? With Nick a world away half the time and Aaron right here. He supposed it probably wouldn’t be much different than the week they had together, but with more nudity. Pulling up to his house, Gracie greeted him at the front door. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket as he let her out. _I get off in an hour, do you still want me to come over?_

Zak smiled at the text, responding quickly. _Yeah, I do. Call me when you’re done and I’ll give you directions._


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derrick goes over to Zak's house and Zak unintentionally hurts Aaron

“It was too soon,” Aaron said as he moved around the kitchen making dinner. Nick tapped his cell phone on the table, willing it to ring. “I told you he wouldn’t go for it.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “You said he wouldn’t go for it because he didn’t think he was really bi. But we found him in a gay club, Aaron. He was going to take the bartender home. I think he has a good idea of what he’s interested in.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean he wants anything to do with _us_ ,” he said, putting a plate of hot food in front of Nick.

Thoughts rolled through Nick’s head as he ate. Twirling his fork in the mashed potatoes, it hit him. “He doesn’t want to be with me.”

“What?” Aaron asked, looking up from his email.

“He was comfortable with you; he trusts you. Fuck, I found him sleeping on top of you in your bed. He took you home to his house last weekend. He sucked your dick. _You’re_ the one he wants,” he declared. As the revelation rolled off his tongue, he realized how much it hurt.

Aaron scoffed at him. “You said he held your hand in the car and that the bartender had your eyes. He’s more comfortable with me like that because I’ve worked on it for a bit with him _and_ I haven’t been a dick about it, unlike someone else I know.”

Nick smirked. “Hey, I got him to ask you out on a date and that landed you two in bed together.”

“Yeah well, it also landed you in hot water.”

“We’ve already covered the fact that I’m a dick.”

Aaron shrugged, going back to his email. “I’m still pissed at you for that.”

Nick sighed. This was exactly like fights with his wife. “I know. Does that mean I’m not getting laid after dinner?”

Raising an eyebrow, Aaron turned back to him. “You got laid before dinner. Twice. I’m tired. And he didn’t say no to your date. I think we just took everything a little too fast. Take him out in Chicago and just be normal with him. Show him that everything is still the same.”

Nick just nodded, still thinking that Zak just plain was not interested in him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Zak smiled as he watched Derrick’s car pull into his driveway. Getting out, Derrick presented the older man with a bouquet of roses. “Seemed like you had a rough day,” he said, presenting them to him.

Zak took the flowers, their sweet smell overwhelming his senses. “You didn’t have to bring me flowers,” he said, though the smile could not leave his face as he led Derrick into his house. Gracie greeted them at the door. Derrick leaned down to pet her as Zak found a place for the roses. 

“So, uh, your friends seem very protective of you.”

Zak shrugged as he came out of the kitchen, taking him by the hand and leading him into the living room area to sit on the couch. “They want me to do something that I don’t think I’m ready to do.”

“What’s that?”

Zak just shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about them right now,” he whispered.

Derrick smiled, scooting closer to him on the couch. “What do you want to talk about then?”

Zak smiled, leaning forward, “Nothing at all.”

Taking the cue, Derrick closed the distance between them, running his fingers through dark, gelled hair. He dominated the kiss, taking Zak’s breath away as the intensity grew fiercer. With one hand on the back of his head, the other hand roamed the muscular body, pulling at the clothing, trying to move it so he could access the tanned skin. 

Zak’s senses were on high overload as this stranger ravaged his mouth and his hands roamed his body. The voice in his head was screaming at him to stop and walk out immediately but the hard touch had his body on fire. A warm hand flicked by a nipple, instantly hardening it on its way down to his pants. That same hand rubbed roughly over his crotch, causing Zak’s hips to buck against it involuntarily. Derrick smiled against his lips, finally allowing air to pass between them. “Fuck, babe, you’re ready.”

A very unmanly whine escaped his lips that he would forever deny as he was lowered down onto his back on the couch, his tshirt having been ripped off his body. Derrick stood up, shedding himself of his clothes before moving his hands to Zak’s pants. Closing his eyes, Zak held his breath as the final pieces of clothing were removed from his body. “Hey…,” Derrick whispered softly as he straddled the slim hips. “You ok?”

Zak opened his eyes, staring up into dark concerned eyes. _Nick’s eyes_. “Yeah,” he answered, “Just fine.” Raising up, he tried to recapture his lips, but was denied as the younger man pulled back.

“You’re not with someone are you? Nick or Aaron? I don’t want to-“

Zak shook his head quickly, running his hands down the chest above him. _So much different from Aaron’s_ , he thought. “No. I told you in the bar I don’t have anyone.”

Cocking his head to the side, Derrick still didn’t seem pleased with this answer, but he let Zak’s hands continue to roam his body. Fingers danced around his muscle as his blue eyes followed the movements. He shuddered as fingertips danced over the head of his cock, wiping up the small dribble of precum that had escaped from the head, bringing it up to his lips. _Tastes similar to Aaron._

“You’re new at this,” Derrick finally said. The panic that arose in Zak’s eyes gave him all the confirmation he needed. “It’s ok,” he said, laying his body down along Zak’s, rolling his hips slowly. “You seem to know what you want.”

Zak smiled. “I do.”

“Do you have any lube then? Or lotion would work.”

Zak nodded. “But I have to get up to go get it, or you could come to the bedroom with me.”

His heart fluttered in his chest as they ascended the staircase to his bedroom. Zak looked at the bed as he entered, thinking the last time anyone had been in it with him it had been Aaron. Why did he feel like he was cheating when they weren’t even together? Climbing on the bed, he felt Derrick climb on behind him, hands on his hips as kisses were laid across his back as he reached into the nightstand drawer for the lube and a condom. Fingers danced lightly over his asscheeks before they were grabbed roughly. Zak moaned as a thumb grazed over his tight hole. This evening was not going the way he had planned. He had not even considered bottoming tonight. He wasn’t sure that this was where he wanted it to go…

But the lube and condom were taken out of his hand before he had time to react. A pillow was taken from in front of him and slid underneath his hips. “This will make it easier for you,” Derrick said, running a hand down Zak’s back. “You have beautiful tattoos, Zak.” Kisses were placed up his spine as he felt a wet finger trace around his hole before gently pressing in. His body arched as he fought against the intrusion, Derrick’s other hand coming up to trace lightly along his side, whispering words of encouragement in his ear. “You’re so beautiful naked.” Kisses were scattered along his shoulder blade up to his ear. Another finger attempted to push inside him and Zak’s body tensed as his hands gripped the bedsheets tightly. “You’ve never done this before.”

Zak shook his head furiously from side to side, his eyes clenched tightly shut. “No,” he grunted. His hardon was slowly dwindling with the pain of being breached. This was not how he imagined it. This was not what Aaron and Nick made it out to be. He shouldn’t have done this. _He shouldn’t have done this_. Tears threatened to fall from his clenched shut eyes as he thought Nick and Aaron would have made this so much easier. He should have let them… But before he could say ‘No’ the fingers inside him twitched, flicking over what he assumed was his prostate as he felt his nerves light on fire with pleasure. “Holy _fuck_ ,” he grunted instead. A few more flicks and his hardon was raging once again between his legs, and he was even pushing back against Derrick’s hand, panting, wishing the feeling would never stop. He whined as the fingers left him, but felt the warm body align behind him. 

“This is going to be a little different, but trust me, ok? I don’t want to hurt you so I’m going to go slow. Let me know if it’s too much and we can stop.”

Zak nodded, grabbing a pillow to lay his head against, clinging to it as he felt the blunt head of his cock push inside. The pressure was intense, but the lube helped the slide as he pushed all the way in slowly. Derrick’s voice dropped an octave as he whispered huskily, “You ok?”

Zak nodded into his pillow, trying to control his heartbeat and his breathing. Slowly, the hips behind him began moving. Zak felt as if every nerve ending on the bottom half of his body was alive and thrumming. A hand held onto his hip as the other traced around, wrapping around his cock, making him scream in surprise. Derrick chuckled above him, “It’s ok. Fuck, Zak you’re so tight.”

Zak raised up on all fours, beginning to meet Derrick’s thrusts with his own. His balls were heavy between his legs as their bodies collided together. Zak’s eyes rolled in the back of his head as he felt the head of his cock slide over his prostate again on its way by. Ok so this was _exactly_ the way it was described to him. Fingers curled in his dark bedsheets as the sounds of sex filled the air, their bodies meeting faster and harder. Zak could not catch his breath as they moved; his head was swimming. Briefly, he thought he might lose consciousness.

Derrick grunted behind him, still pumping Zak’s cock in his hand. “Damn, babe, you’re close.” Pulling out, he flipped Zak over onto his back, pulling his legs apart as he entered him from the front. “I want to see you cum.”

Zak lay on his back, stunned at the sudden change in position. Staring up into a face that was unfamiliar to him, but those eyes… His body moved against the bed with the force of Derrick’s thrusts, but Zak’s gaze never waned. His body tensed with his impending orgasm as he ran his hands up the strong arms. Feeling his balls tighten, his cock erupted, sending streaks of hot cum across his stomach. His vision closed in on him, darkness coming from all sides as he stared up into those familiar eyes, seeing Nick’s face in front of him.

Hours later, Zak woke up. The darkness in the room told him the sun had not come up yet. Strong arms were wrapped around his body, hugging him tighter as he shifted the closer he got to full consciousness. For a fleeting moment, he thought it was Aaron, but those weren’t Aaron’s hands. His ass hurt and he remembered well who this man was behind him. Reaching down, he realized that Derrick had cleaned him off. He must have passed out. Zak sighed. What a great way to end a first experience with someone – passing the hell out before the other person can even get off.

Derrick stirred behind him, his hands flexing on his stomach. “Hey, sleepy, you awake?” he asked groggily. “You passed out on me there. I was a little worried.”

Zak smiled into the darkness. “Yeah… sorry,” he said, turning in his embrace.

Derrick pulled him in closer, nuzzling their noses together. “It’s ok. Kind of awesome to know that it was so good you couldn’t handle it.”

Zak laughed, wrapping his arms around this stranger in his bed. This absolutely adorable stranger. “Guess I have to make that up to you, huh?”

“How about you make me breakfast in a few hours?”

Zak smiled. “I can do that.”

“Ok, now go back to sleep. I have to work tomorrow.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Zak waved as Derrick pulled out of the driveway to go back to his own house to change. Picking up his cell phone in the living room in his clothes he had abandoned there the night before, he checked through his messages. Several were business related but most were Nick and Aaron wondering if he was all right and asking him to call them when he could. Zak considered calling them, but it felt weird. He felt like he had just violated their trust and like he was cheating. But he wasn’t cheating. He hadn’t told them that he would be in a relationship with them. They didn’t even love him! Well, Nick didn’t. Or at least, he thought he didn’t. He loved his wife and Aaron. How could he love Zak too? Aaron though… Zak’s heart pained to think of it. His body felt violated, but his heart was elated. Being with Derrick the night before had been like sharing a secret that he had kept hidden for so long. But that secret was so precious that now he had that fear that Derrick would go tell everyone. _Shit_. Maybe Nick was right. Maybe this was a bad idea. _Nick_. Zak remembered Nick’s face being the last thing he saw in his mind’s eye before he passed out the night before. Those eyes…

Sighing, Zak picked up his phone and walked outside on the back patio with Gracie before dialing Aaron’s number. He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, you ok?”

Zak smiled into the receiver. “Yeah, I’m fine, why?”

“Because we’ve been trying to get ahold of you for the past four hours.”

“Oh? Sorry I was busy.”

The line stayed silent for a moment. Zak knew that Aaron wanted to ask but he wouldn’t. Zak didn’t want to tell him. Deep down, he knew that would hurt their eldest. Nick had already left a scar on his heart, Zak couldn’t do that too. But he just wasn’t ready…

“Nick and I were wondering if you wanted to go play some golf today.”

“Oh, yeah. We could totally do that.”

“Great. Pick you up in 30?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two days later, the four men sat in the airport terminal waiting for their flight to be announced. “Dude, you’re on your phone more than Aaron and I now, what’s up?” Billy said, trying to lean over to see who he was texting.

“Get off, Bill. None of your business, bro.”

“Did you get a new girlfriend in between lockdowns?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Casting a quick glance over to Nick and Aaron, he mumbled a quick, “No.”

A text message from Nick showed up on his phone. Opening it, he knew what it was going to say already. _Did you fuck that guy from the bar?_

Zak fired back, looking up to see Nick’s reaction to his response. _What if I did?_

Nick’s face hardened and he pocketed his phone only to pull it right back out and send him a response back. _Don’t tell Aaron. He thinks you’re too precious_

Zak snorted, pocketing his phone as their flight was announced overhead. He didn’t need to be babied and he certainly didn’t need people worrying about him. Zak Bagans could handle himself. Settling down into first class, he pulled out his phone again to tell Derrick that they were on the plane. Nick’s seat was conveniently next to his. “Boyfriend now?” he whispered.

Zak shook his head. “No… just a person.”

“The guy who has my eyes?”

Zak looked away toward the window. _Fuck_ he had said that didn’t he? “So what if he does?”

“What the hell is wrong with you, man?” Nick whispered fiercely. “What you’re doing is dangerous.”

Zak whispered back, “What I’m doing is dating and trying out something new. You’re the ones that started this. Excuse me if I want to expand my experiences.”

Nick sat back in the airline seat. The flight attendent came by asking for drink orders and he ordered a shot of tequila. The fact that Zak felt the need to experiment behind their backs hurt him in ways that he knew it shouldn’t. Zak was a grown man who could do whatever he wanted. He had not said yes to them. Maybe Aaron was right. Maybe it was too soon, but maybe Zak didn’t quite know what he was getting into. Downing the amber liquid, he felt the blue eyes on him. He looked over, locking with them momentarily before Zak turned away. Nick dared to grasp his upper thigh, squeezing slightly before letting go. Leaning over, he whispered in Zak’s ear, “I fucking love you and I don’t want to see you get hurt. That’s all.”

Turning on him, Zak sneered, “You love Aaron but you still hurt him.” He instantly regretted his words but they were true. Neither could deny it, but Nick’s words etched into Zak’s head. They repeated over and over again on their flight to Chicago. _I fucking love you I fucking love you I love you I love you…_


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick takes charge and Zak and Nick have their date

Zak stood watching the conveyor belt turn. His luggage had come out already but he watched anyways, Nick motionless on his right side, silently watching him. He felt Aaron come up on his left and nudge him. He couldn’t bring himself to look at the older man. Instead, he answered with a grunt, grabbing his suitcase and turning around as Aaron led them out to their rental van Billy had picked up while they grabbed the luggage. Nick’s words still rolled through his mind like a freight train, but now not only _I love you_ but _Aaron thinks you’re precious_. Just what the hell did that mean? He’s a grown man, not some child that needed to be protected.

Settling into the front passenger seat of the van, Zak pulled out his phone to let Derrick know they had landed and that he’d call him when he was checked into his hotel room. “Texting your girlfriend to let her know you’re safe?”

“Guy I’m dating actually,” Zak answered without even thinking about it. Why not just be open with it? It would make this whole thing a lot smoother, but the air in the van suddenly went tense.

Bill just nodded, still staring straight ahead at the road. “That’s cool,” he said. “Just dating?”

Zak nodded as he pocketed his phone again, glancing back at Aaron. “Yeah, just met him. Guess I’ll see where it goes.” Aaron’s face looked pained as he stared out the window at the bright Chicago lights. He could feel Nick’s eyes bore a hole through the back of his car seat. If he turned to look at him, it would be obvious. Instead, he pulled out his phone again and texted the younger man. _I’m sorry. It just came out._

“Well, if it turns into something more serious, I’d love to meet him,” Bill looked sideways at him with a bright grin before turning his attention back to the road. 

Zak didn’t realize how big it was to come out. He just did something that Nick and Aaron could never do: admit to their sexuality to another person they weren’t interested in. Zak’s phone vibrated in his hand. Pulling up the text message from Nick, a sharp pain stabbed him in the chest. _You fucked up_.

Quickly, he texted Aaron. _I’m sorry Aaron. I just want to know if it’s you or men in general._

He heard Aaron shift in the backseat, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Seconds later, he received a text message back. _No problem, bro. He was a good looking guy. Good luck._

Zak sighed, sinking back into the seat, staring out the front windshield at the lights as they blurred by, wondering if he had just fucked up not only this investigation but potentially two friendships.

Less than an hour later, Zak tossed his suitcase towards the closet, not even bothering to unpack before sinking down into the bed. Nick and Aaron barely said two words to him during check in but they had agreed to dinner in an hour. Sighing, he pulled out his cell phone and texted Derrick that he had made it to the room but was too tired to talk. Setting his phone on the nightstand, he closed his eyes, wishing he could fall asleep and wakeup four days from now.

Seconds later his phone vibrated. _Are you ok?_

Zak grunted and texted back. _Yeah just tired_. His phone rang in his hand. Answering it quickly, he nearly screamed, “I said I was tired and didn’t want to talk! What the _hell_?”

Derrick sighed. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to check on you.”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

“Something’s wrong.”

“Derrick. Nothing is wrong.” Zak’s body tensed as he considered hanging up on him.

“Did you tell them about me?”

“Fucking hell, man. You’re worse than a woman.”

“You know what, maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” Derrick answered, his voice tensing to match Zak’s.

“No, maybe it wasn’t. You don’t know me. You don’t know what I deal with. You don’t know the shit that I do every day.”

“So you _are_ fucking them.”

“Derrick, this has nothing to do with them. I’m fucking tired. I’ve been traveling and researching for this lockdown. This is my job.”

Derrick sighed. “Fine. Call me when you stop being tired and bitchy.”

“I am _not_ bitchy!” Zak yelled and hung up, flinging his phone across the room.

Sinking back into the bed, Zak groaned. This whole night was fucked up. He couldn’t wait to go see what kind of torture he was going to go through at dinner. Just as he started to calm down, a soft knock came on his door. Grunting, he stood up and looked through the peephole to see Aaron standing in the hallway. “Bro, I heard you yelling…,” he said through the door.

Zak opened the door, allowing him entrance. Closing the door, he crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m fine.”

Aaron snorted. “I know you, you are not fine. Apparently you’re bitchy.”

“I am _not_ bitchy! Oh my _God_.” Zak’s face twisted as he stalked back to the bed, laying down on it.

Aaron walked over, laying down next to him. “We’re cool, man, seriously. If you want to date that guy from the bar, then go for it.”

Zak grunted his response before rolling over, burying his head into Aaron’s chest, uncomfortably knocking their legs together over the edge of the bed.

Aaron’s body tensed at the surprise movement before squirming. “Let’s scoot up, bro.” Scooting up the bed, Zak followed him, resuming his position once Aaron settled into the pillows. Closing his eyes, he allowed his head to sink into the hollow of Aaron’s neck, clinging tightly to his body. 

Aaron kicked off his shoes, kicking at Zak’s feet to do the same. Softly he ran his hand down his back, resting his head against the dark hair. With his other hand, he took Zak’s hand curled in his shirt, interlocking their fingers. “I’m sorry,” Zak mumbled.

Kissing his forehead, Aaron held the strong body closer. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing, man. I hurt you. I know I hurt Nick. He’s so pissed at me.”

Aaron snorted. “Nick is fine and yeah, it hurt when you said you were dating that guy, but that happens. Nick and I are dating, you know. We’re not relationship-less.”

“Yeah but I let him…,” he sighed softly. “And all I could think about was you and I saw Nick’s face when I… It was just so weird, Aaron.”

The hand stilled on his back, the body beneath him tensed. “Did he hurt you?”

Zak shook his head, feeling Aaron’s beard scratch his forehead. “No, he was good. It was really good,” he laughed sadly. “It just wasn’t… I thought that I should have let you do it.”

Aaron chuckled softly, resuming running his hand along Zak’s back. “You’re having Virgin’s Remorse.”

Zak laughed. “I haven’t been called a virgin for over 20 years, bro.”

“You’re going to be all right. Just let him know what you’re uncomfortable with and when he should stop.”

Zak sighed and breathed in the familiar scent of Aaron’s soap. Taking his hand out of Aaron’s, he ran it down his body, hesitating slightly over his hip before cupping his crotch. “Do you want to-“

Aaron quickly grabbed his hand. “No, Zak. Don’t do that.”

“You don’t want to?” he asked, the hurt and rejection evident in his voice.

Aaron shook his head as he dislodged Zak from his side. “I didn’t say that, but we shouldn’t. I don’t want to screw things up for you with this guy. What’s his name?”

Zak sighed, sitting up. “Derrick.”

“Derrick,” Aaron repeated. He stood up from the bed, straightening his clothes. “I just wanted to check on you, make sure you’re ok. Everything will work itself out, man. You’ll be ok.”

Zak just nodded as he watched Aaron walk out the door. Laying back down on the bed, he prayed for these next few days to go by quickly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next day was full of interviews and Zak made sure to try to be as social as possible, laughing just like nothing was wrong. Derrick had texted him around 9 just to say good morning. Zak texted back, though he thought about ignoring it. Why was it that when he was with Derrick everything was ok but once he was away from him, he didn’t want anything to do with the man? 

At lunch, Nick had cornered him, telling him that despite dating Derrick, he still owed him a date. Zak growled at him but Nick told him to be down in the lobby by 7pm. The rest of the day, Zak would admit to being grumpy. The interviews went fine but as soon as the cameras were off, he would walk away from the group, not really having anything to do with anyone. This time, Aaron didn’t ask him if he was ok. Zak silently wondered what Aaron had told Nick, if anything.

That night at 7pm, he sat downstairs in the lobby, waiting. He would be lying if he didn’t admit to the nervousness that thrummed in his body. He was going to be alone with the man who had been pissed at him for the past few days in a city that he could easily dump his body in. The odds were not in his favor. Nick stepped out of the elevator into the lobby, definitely dressed for the occasion in nice dress pants and a button down shirt. Zak stood up when he saw him, a slight smile on his lips, despite his nerves. “Hey handsome,” Nick smirked as he approached.

“Damn, Nick,” he whispered as he unabashedly looked down his body.

“Ready for our date?” he asked, hands in his pockets. Zak just nodded as he followed Nick out of the hotel lobby.

Hailing a taxi, Nick gave the driver an address. As the car pulled away from the curb, he rested a hand on Zak’s thigh, squeezing slightly before removing it. “Doing ok?”

Zak just nodded, shifting slightly uncomfortably as his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He ignored it until they got to the restaurant. Nick paid the driver and directed Zak up to the third level. Zak peered into the different floors as they walked up the stairs. “Are all of these restaurants?” he asked as they ascended.

“Yeah, but the third floor is the nicest.” The maitre’d seated them in the back, providing them with menus and delivering waters.

Zak pulled out his cell phone, responding to the text message Derrick sent, a small smile on his face.

“Derrick?” Nick asked over his menu.

“Yeah,” he answered. “Some guy is hitting on him at the bar.”

“Did you tell him that you’re out on a date with another guy?”

Zak snorted. “No. I told him I was going out to dinner with you.”

Nick set his menu down, looking at Zak over the candle light. “So Aaron said you guys had a fight last night.”

Zak rolled his eyes as he looked down at the menu, choosing what he wanted to eat without responding.

“He also said that you let him fuck you.”

“Seriously, Nick? Are we going to have that conversation here?”

Nick shrugged. “Where else do you want to have it?”

Zak’s phone vibrated on the table as the waiter came over, taking their order. As he left, Zak picked up his phone, grinning brightly at the message. Nick huffed across from him. “Seriously? Are you going to be on that thing the whole night?”

“I’m sorry, am I bothering you? I was under the impression you were pissed at me. I didn’t realize you wanted to be social.”

“I fucking asked you on a date. Of course I want to be social.”

“It’s not a real date, Nick.”

“I paid for the taxi, I’m paying for the meal. It’s a fucking date, Zak.”

“Fine. What the fuck do you want to talk about?” he grumbled. 

Nick smirked. “So his eyes remind you of me?”

Zak groaned loudly, sinking lower in his chair. “Seriously, bro?”

Leaning forward, Nick held his hand out until Zak took it. Kissing it softly, he whispered, “Did you think about me while he was fucking you?” Zak looked away, trying to take his hand back but Nick held on tight, grinning widely. “You did, didn’t you?”

The blush crept up from Zak’s neck, taking over his face to the tips of his ears. “This is not appropriate dinner conversation.”

He was saved as the waiter brought their meals, putting the plates down in front of them, but Nick would not let up as they ate. “Did you moan my name?”

“No, I did not. I’m not talking about this.”

“But you thought about me. As you looked in his eyes as his dick was moving inside you, you wished it was me.”

“So those interviews went well today…,” he said, trying to change the topic of conversation as he twirled his pasta on his fork.

Nick shrugged, as he shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. Zak was thankful for the momentary silence, allowing him to get his thoughts in order. He should never have told Aaron about that. He should never have told Nick that Derrick’s eyes reminded him of the younger man.

“The investigation should go well. That place is definitely active. I don’t think we’ll have a problem with evidence.”

Zak nodded. “I think we’ll have to spread out the cameras though. We’ll probably have to go wireless for some.”

Nick agreed, allowing their previous topic of conversation to drop. Zak’s phone vibrated on the table while they ate. Each time, Nick would glance over and up into the blue eyes with a quirked eyebrow. After the third message, he couldn’t resist anymore. Zak picked up his phone to read the messages. They were about nothing really, but he and Derrick had had a long conversation that afternoon about their new relationship and limits. He apologized for being an ass the night before and Derrick apologized for being an overly zealous not-quite-boyfriend.

And Derrick knew that he would be out with Nick tonight. Zak knew that was one of the reasons he was texting him so much but he would never let on.

“Seriously, Zak? Put the phone away.”

Nick was clearly annoyed now. Zak smirked at him, “Jealous?”

“Yes, put the fucking phone down. I hardly see you anymore as it is.”

Zak snorted. “You see me enough.”

The waiter came to remove their empty plates as Nick glared over the table at him, crossing his arms over his broadened chest. “You pictured me while you were fucking him and I’m right here.”

Zak’s eyebrow twitched. “Shut the fuck up, Nick. My sex with Derrick is none of your business.”

“It is when you bring my boyfriend into it.”

“He asked.”

“You tried to fuck him last night. Seems like you need to make up your mind. Do you want this bartender, Aaron, or me?”

Zak growled, “For the record, I pictured you as I passed out and Aaron as he was fucking me.” Standing up, he tossed his napkin on the table. “Thanks for dinner, _dear_ ,” he sneered and walked out of the restaurant.

Nick flagged the waiter down, tossing a handful of bills at him that he knew was way over the price of the meals but not caring. Quickly, he chased Zak out of the restaurant, knowing that he had hit a nerve. And what the hell was this about Zak passing out? He didn’t know about that. Pulling out his cell phone, he pulled up the GPS tracker app on his phone. Silently, he thanked God that they had agreed to do this a long time ago to find each other when they needed to overseas. Zeroing in on Zak’s location, he hailed a taxi.

Fifteen minutes later, the taxi pulled up to a dark building with a heavy bass beating from its walls and a large man standing at the door. “What is this place?” he asked the taxi driver.

The driver looked back at him with an incredulous look. “It’s the Masquerade. You said go here so we go here.”

Nick sighed, paying the driver and stepping out of the cab. He grumbled as he paid the overly priced cover charge, only vaguely surprised at what he saw inside. Men were walking around in various states of dress, eyeing him like candy as soon as he walked through the door. Zak had found his way to a gay sex club. He wasn’t surprised. He headed towards the bar certain that was where he would find Zak. Sure enough, he saw the dark hair step away from the bar with a beer in his hand. Making his way through the crowd, following him into a dark corner, Nick’s anger seethed. He had ran away from him to this place? Just what the hell was Zak doing? Did he even know anymore?

Zak watched as a younger man walked by him, giving Nick a profile of his face. With a renewed determination, he started pushing people out of his way as he lost sight of him in the darkness. The song changed, causing the colored lights to flicker into the corner, allowing Nick to see where he had settled against a table, his back to the crowd. Siddling up behind him, Nick wrapped his arms tightly around Zak’s waist, whispering in his ear, “You can run, but you can’t hide from me, Zak.”

Zak stiffened in his embrace, but steeled his face. “How did you know I was here?”

“GPS tracker on our phones,” he answered, not letting go. Being this close was the only way they would be able to hear each other. The corner was dark and private enough that no one would be able to see them from the dance floor. He could see why Zak had headed for this area. “Why are you here?”

“Because I didn’t think you’d come here.”

“I’ve been to these places before. They don’t intimidate me but you don’t know what you’re getting into, especially in a corner like this.” Zak swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly with his nervousness. “Did you come here to find someone to fuck you?” he asked, dragging his lips down the back of his neck. “Do you want someone to take you like Derrick did?” Moving his right hand down the tense body, he cupped his crotch. Growling in his ear, Nick smiled, “You’re fucking hard. You like this.”

Zak bucked into his hand as it rubbed against him roughly. “You want me to fuck you right here? Bend you over this table and take you? It doesn’t have to be a fantasy anymore, Zak.”

“Fuck, Nick,” he grunted, holding onto the sides of the table. “What do you want?”

“That’s what I’m asking you,” he growled huskily. “I can take you right here or I can walk away and leave you as fresh meat for someone else in this club.”

Zak moaned, putting his hand over Nick’s on his crotch and pushing it down harder as he grinded against it.

Nick’s other hand moved to his own pants, unzipping them and pulling his cock out, stroking it to its full length as he let Zak rut against his palm. “Undo your pants,” he told him. Zak’s hands flung to his belt, quickly undoing them. Nick pulled the back of his pants down just enough without exposing him too much. “It’s going to hurt,” he mumbled as he tried to rub his thumb against his hole, loosening it as much as he could. “Don’t tense.” He licked his fingers, getting as much spit on them as possible before he moved to prep the older man.

Zak nodded as he bent over slightly, closing his eyes to the sensation of Nick’s fingers. The club music continued around them as people danced. He could feel people moving around them, completely ignoring them. He wondered if Nick was right, if this was what really happens here in clubs like this. His eyes flung open as he felt the blunt head of Nick’s cock push against him. “Stop tensing,” he grunted, finally breaching him.

Zak’s hands gripped tightly onto the table in front of him as Nick pushed in slowly, moving gently while his hands held up his pants to leave him some kind of dignity. Zak whined as the friction burned him, “Nick, hurts.”

“I know,” he grunted. “Take your cock out and stroke it. Touch yourself for me.”  
Zak nodded, moving one of his hands down and pulling his cock out of the front of his boxers. The whole positioning was awkward with the back of his boxers pulled down, tightening the front of them against him. With a swivel of his hips, Nick’s cock brushed against Zak’s prostate, nearly buckling his legs. Chuckling softly, Nick felt comfortable moving faster, squeezing Zak’s hips in his hands. Each movement elicited a soft grunt from Zak; the pliancy of his body driving Nick mad. Pulling Zak up against his chest by his hair, he took his hands from his hips, running them down the clothed chest. “Do you like being fucked like this? You’ve said you like it rough.”

“Fuck, Nick. What the hell? Just keep moving,” he groaned, his own hand fisting his cock furiously.

Nick’s right hand roamed down, knocking Zak’s hand away and taking over the motion as his hips swiveled again. Groaning out a soft “Fuck you” Zak gripped into the sides of the table in front of him once more.

Nick chuckled, allowing him to lean forward again, making his movements slightly easier. He felt the body beneath him tensing spastically, the thigh muscles bouncing against his legs. Grabbing a handful of discarded napkins quickly from the table, he covered the head of Zak’s cock with them before his orgasm hit. His body shivered, nearly losing its balance into the table in front of him. A few more thrusts and Nick spilled deep inside Zak. Standing still for a moment, the sounds of the club and the throng of hundreds of men came back to their ears. Nick rubbed Zak’s back gently before pulling out and adjusting his own clothes before throwing the napkin in the nearby trashcan. Zak stood up straight, pulling his boxers and pants back up, making a slight face as he turned around. “What?” Nick asked.

“My ass burns… and I can feel your cum inside me. That’s such a weird feeling,” Zak said, making a face.

Nick smiled, wrapping his arms around the older man and bringing him in closer, kissing his soft lips before grabbing his ass. “I’m sorry that happened here, like that.”

Zak shrugged, relaxing into Nick’s body, finally looking at the scene around him. There were dozens of other couples doing exactly what they had just done in the darkness around them. Some of them were not nearly as careful with exposing themselves as they had been. “I guess I walked into the wrong kind of club.”

Nick nodded. “There are rooms you can rent upstairs by the hour, some with a professional. So can we go now or do you want the grand tour?”

Zak shook his head and walked ahead of Nick, holding his hand out behind him to take. They hailed a taxicab, Zak never dropping Nick’s hand.


	10. Chapter Ten

“You did _what_?” Aaron steamed, raising his voice at Nick.

“He went into a gay sex club, what did you want me to do?” he asked, toeing his way out of his shoes and flinging his dress shirt towards his luggage.

“Get him out, not fuck him against a wall!” he screeched.

“It was a table. And he wanted me to!” Nick yelled back.

“Yeah and he wanted me to fuck him last night and I said no. He’s dating someone, Nick! What if someone randomly approached me and I agreed to have sex with him. What would you do?”

“I’d flip the fuck out and throw Zak out of your bedroom or do you not remember from a few days ago?” he answered, sitting down on the bed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Aaron sighed. The man had a point. “Okay fine, but that’s my point. You could have just fucked up that relationship for him.”

Nick stood up, motioning widely with his arms. “Aaron, what _relationship_? The dude is a fucking bartender at a gay joint in Vegas. How many other guys is he screwing from the bar? He’s probably going to steal whatever he can from Zak. I just saved him.”

Aaron shook his head. “You can’t make those decisions for him. Zak was interested in this guy-“

“This guy was no one. He was just someone that Zak was using that wasn’t us.”

“Still, that’s up to Zak to figure out. It’s _his_ life we’re screwing with. You can’t just take him because you want to!”

Nick tore his hands through his hair, beginning to pace around the room as Aaron watched him from the corner, arms crossed defiantly over his chest. “He _wanted_ me to, Aaron.”

“Zak doesn’t know what he wants. He’s learning; he’s experimenting. He doesn’t know what’s going on in himself right now. You and I have both been through this. It’s not something you can learn from someone else’s experience, you have to do it yourself. Isn’t that what you told me a long time ago?”

“But it’s _Zak_! How could he…” Nick stopped. He had no idea what he was going to say. The arguments formed in his mind but died on his tongue. He sighed, defeated.

Aaron came up behind him, wrapping his arms around his bare chest. “You can’t protect him from this.”

Leaning back into the embrace, Nick closed his eyes. “I’m not trying to protect him,” he said quietly.

“You totally are, bro. Listen to yourself. You don’t trust Derrick.”

“No, he’s a sleezy bartender!” he huffed.

“But you don’t know that. He could be exactly what Zak needs right now. He knows us. He’s comfortable with us but he has to see us all the time for work. How awkward do you think it makes him feel to know that you and I consider him attractive and would like to see him in our bed?”

Nick growled, but didn’t disagree.

“So he’s looking for someone to experiment with that isn’t any of that. He found it in Derrick, who actually seems to be a nice guy. Bartender or not.”

“Derrick shouldn’t even have happened, Aaron.”

Aaron shrugged, “We can’t control that.”

Nick turned in the embrace, resting his forehead against Aaron’s. “Don’t tell me you haven’t developed at least some kind of feelings or sexual interest in him these past few weeks.”

Aaron rolled his eyes, brushing his lips against Nicks. “I’m not saying that, but if he comes back to us, I want it to be because he wants to. Not because he’s hurt or scared or trying to figure out if he likes this or not.”

Nick sighed. “Ok fine.”

“And you should bring him Vaseline. You know his ass is burning right now.”

Nick snorted but changed into workout pants before toeing on some flip flops and grabbing a tank top. “Yeah, I guess I should. He probably would regret the whole thing and hate me if I didn’t.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Zak snorted as a knock came on his door. Getting up from the bed, he padded over in his bare feet to answer the door. Nick grinned widely, handing him a small jar of Vaseline. An eyebrow raised, he allowed the younger man into the room, taking the Vaseline from him and closing the door. “Dude, I’m sore… no more tonight, ok?”

Nick shook his head, discarding his shoes before sitting on the foot of the bed. “Not for lube. I would have brought _actual_ lube for that. It’s for the soreness. It will make the burn go away. Do you want me to help put it on you?”

Reading the back of the jar, what Nick said made sense. Wrinkling his nose, he said, “This will get all in my underwear.”

“Not if you do it right. Here, hand me the jar and drop your pants.”

Zak laughed. “No way man. I already dropped my pants once for you tonight.”

Nick rolled his eyes, taking the jar from his hands and knocking the older man face first on the bed in one fell swoop. “I’m not screwing you, I’m helping you,” he grumbled as he tried to wrestle Zak’s workout pants down his hips.

Zak sighed, lifting his lower body up enough and helping slide his pants down his hips slightly. “This is so fucked up.”

“And getting bent over a table without lube in a gay sex club by one of your best friends isn’t?” Nick asked as he opened the jar, taking a little of the substance on his fingers. “This might be a little cold… but it will feel good soon. I promise.” A single nimble finger worked its way around and slightly into Zak’s pucker, rubbing just enough Vaseline in the area that he thought would help.

Zak grunted as he felt Nick get up to go wash his hands. Pulling up his pants he rolled over onto his back, scooting up the bed.

Nick returned from the bathroom and laid down next to him on his side. “Feel better?” he asked.

“Yeah actually. Thanks for thinking of that.”

Nick shrugged slightly. “The least I could do. I tried not to hurt you too bad.”

“Nah… I’m ok.”

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Five minutes later, Zak’s cell phone buzzed next to them. Picking it up, he saw that it was from Derrick. Looking down at the phone, he closed his eyes and sighed.

“Derrick?”

Zak nodded.

“You can tell him or you can not tell him. If you want what we did tonight to just be on your list of experiences and continue dating him, then that’s fine. Otherwise, I think we need to talk.”

“You already told Aaron.”

“Of course I told him. It’s Aaron.”

Opening up the message, he couldn’t help but laugh. _How was your dinner with Nick? Still out?_

_Rough_ , he answered. _We argued a bit._ He figured he could at least be honest about that. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to come clean about the club. He was still ashamed of himself for even ending up there. “Hey wait,” he said, turning to Nick. “How do you know about those types of clubs?”

Nick blushed and rolled over onto his back. “I was where you are now about 12 years ago. I started looking for something but not really knowing what I was looking for. I met a guy, and he told me about this club so I went there. The whole thing was just… It was overwhelming. The first time I went, I only stayed ten minutes.” There was a long pause as Nick’s thoughts seemed to take him far away. Zak watched as Nick’s cheeks colored slightly, his eyes staring off a little.

“But the second time…,” Zak prodded.

Nick smiled, still not looking at Zak. “All the other times I went, I was looking for an experience that no one would talk about afterwards. I had kept it hidden; never really dated a guy; always really felt kinda ashamed that I felt this way when I had such a wonderful wife.”

Zak closed his eyes to his words as his cell phone vibrated in his hand. Ashamed. Yeah, he knew that feeling well. “And then you and Aaron…”

“Oh Aaron was long after I stopped going to those clubs. I told myself that I just couldn’t do that. I was just going to lock that part of me away, but then…” Nick sighed deeply next to him. “I dunno, I kinda started seeing Aaron in a different light and I just kissed him. I had no idea how he was going to react but I did it. And he kissed me back and that was the greatest feeling ever.”

“You said you love me…,” Zak whispered, slowly trying to put the pieces together.

Nick smiled sadly, “Zak you’ve always…” He sighed and started over. “I had to lock that part inside me away so I didn’t just do what we did tonight. I’ve always… ever since… forever. There’s never been a time.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You thought you were straight.”

Zak snorted. “I don’t know what I am now.”

Nick sighed. “Well, I didn’t want to force you into anything and I hope… I hope that what happened tonight won’t change anything between us.”

Zak smiled slightly. “Nah. I guess you actually kinda saved me from that place. And, you know, it was kind of hot, but I do prefer lube.”

“Yeah, well, I prefer lube too. I should have just got you to come back here. Aaron yelled at me for that.”

“I wouldn’t have come back with you,” he said softly. “I would have fought you, I was so pissed.”

Nick nodded. “I figured as much.”

“So you love me?” Zak asked, rolling over on his side to look at the younger man.

The color rose again in his cheeks as Nick grinned at the ceiling, his arms folded beneath his head. “Are you still on that? Can we just not talk about that?”

Zak snorted, scooting closer and laying his head on Nick’s chest. “You looovveee me.”

Nick sighed, wrapping his arms around the strong body nestling into him, resting his cheek against the soft hair. “You always smell so good after you get out of the shower.”

“Well that is the general idea of a shower.” Nick chuckled softly. Zak sank more into his body, his head growing heavy on the strong shoulder. “Stay here tonight? Just like this?”

Nick was silent for a moment, thinking that Aaron knew exactly where he was but he wasn’t sure if he was expecting him back. He would probably understand that Zak wanted him to stay and that would be a good thing, repairing their relationship from what happened tonight. “Yeah, ok. I can do that.”

Zak smiled, sitting up only momentarily to turn out the light as Nick pulled the covers up around them. Settling back into his position, Zak threw an arm over Nick’s chest as an arm came up around his back, cheek resting against his forehead.

The next day, Aaron watched Zak wearily, pulling him aside in between interviews to question him on his health and soreness. Zak just brushed him off, telling him that he was perfectly fine and everything between him and Nick were fine. The real question was what was going to happen between him and Derrick and he didn’t have an answer for that yet. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be completely honest with him yet or not. He hated the idea of lying to him, but he wasn’t sure if he had a choice in the matter.

Zak laughed at himself. _Of course_ he had a choice in it. It was just whether he wanted to lose the man or not.

That night was lockdown night. Zak’s body thrummed with energy. He bounced around directing where everyone was going, setting up cameras with a renewed vigor that he hadn’t felt for a long time. The energy was not just from the location, he knew. It was from the closeness of Nick and Aaron to him. He wanted to touch, but Billy was there and that would be awkward, but spending the night in Nick’s arms… Zak couldn’t describe the feeling waking up with him, still feeling the warmth of his body even after they had gotten up and got moving. Tonight, he had a plan and couldn’t wait to put it into action.

Just past midnight, he saw his chance. “Nick, why don’t you go investigate the second floor. Billy, go to the third. Aaron and I will be down here on the first floor. Don’t worry about base. I want to get this thing covered all at once and then we’ll start manning back at base camp.”

Aaron looked at him slightly confused, but nodded. Billy grumbled about missing the footage on the cameras and taking extra time to review everything, but dutifully grabbed a camera and climbed the stairs. Nick looked at Zak suspiciously before turning to Aaron. With Billy gone, he felt safe enough to grab a quick kiss before disappearing up the stairs. “So where do you want to start, G?” Aaron asked him, watching Nick disappear up the staircase before turning to their lead investigator.

Taking the camera from his hands and setting it down, Zak said, “Right here.” Surprise was on his side as he grabbed Aaron, pushing him against the wall before pressing his body against him. Aaron tried to push him back gently as their mouths connected.

“Dude,” he tried, as Zak’s tongue ran across his lips, begging for entrance. His hands pushed against his shoulders as the strong body held him in place. “We can’t.”

Zak growled in his ear as he nipped down his neck instead, his hands going down and rubbing him roughly through his jeans. “Please, Aaron.”

Aaron grabbed his hands, pulling them away from his body. “No, Zak,” he said forcefully.

Zak sighed as he relented, resting his forehead against the shoulder in front of him. “Why?” he pouted.

“Derrick.”

Zak growled again. “What does that matter?”

“Bro, listen to yourself. You chose to date this man. You sought him out. I’m not going to be that guy.”

“Why are you such a nice person?” he grumbled as he stepped away from the older man, handing him his camera back.

Aaron grinned at him in the darkness as he shouldered his equipment. “My momma raised me right.”

Zak snorted as he grabbed the digi and followed him into the next room. “Yeah, I guess so.” Inwardly, he grumbled at his failed plan. Dating Derrick was presenting a problem with Aaron that he could not avoid. He understood that Aaron wanted to respect his relationship, but that sucked.

When they got back to Vegas, he was going to have to figure some things out, and that was not a decision he was looking forward to making. Did he really want Nick and Aaron or were they just here and warm at the moment? He had barely talked to Derrick the entire time that they were here with the exception of the fight and the short make up. Other than a few text messages that was the extent of their communication for the past three days. He had been ok with that… or so he thought. Maybe the relationship was just too new…

Zak sighed as he watched Aaron move around the room, still frustrated at the hardness in his jeans. With Derrick he’d be able to go out and enjoy himself. They’d be able to have real dates and be in a real relationship. He knew with Nick and Aaron everything would have to be hidden, even from their closest friends. Aaron turned toward him, raising his camera. “Ready, G.”

Zak clicked on his digi, resuming his work, his mind still contemplating his life back in Vegas.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Aaron laid in his bed, staring up at his ceiling fan, watching it spin above him. They had just landed a few hours ago. A few hours before that, he watched Nick walk away from him to go home to his wife. Then Zak dropped him off in his driveway to go meet Derrick at his house. Now, here he sat, alone. For a fleeting moment, he felt like maybe… maybe he had something that wouldn’t slip through his fingers. Maybe he had someone that would stay.

Rolling over onto his side, Aaron huffed. He didn’t even have a pet to come home to. A week ago, he was practically praying for Zak to go home and just leave him alone. Now, he silently prayed that he would just show up at his door, walking into his bedroom shedding clothes and climb in with him. Rolling back over onto his back, he pulled a pillow down, arranging it next to his chest. Zak had slept here a few nights, just like this, with an arm splayed over his chest, snoring softly in his ear.

But now, Zak had Derrick. Aaron wondered if he slept with Derrick like that or if they slept in a different position. Not that it mattered. Zak had made it clear he wasn’t interested in anything with him or Nick, even though he kept coming onto them. Running his hands over his face, he stood up from the bed, heading into the bathroom. Averting his eyes from the mirror, he opened the medicine cabinet, taking out the Advil PM. Aaron didn’t want to see his own face. He knew what he looked like with pain etched into the lines. Popping three pills with a glass of water from the tap, he walked back into the bedroom, laying back down, waiting for forced sleep to overtake him from his thoughts of loneliness.

Just a few blocks away, Zak lay in bed, his eyes closed as fingers ran through his hair. He really hated people messing with his hair, but he didn’t have the energy to say anything. He and Derrick had already had one fight and he had only been off the plane two hours. Zak sighed and rolled over, facing the younger man. “You know, you don’t have to stay here while I sleep. You probably have a million things you need to do.”

Derrick just smiled at him, running his hand down Zak’s nude chest. “I missed you. I’d rather be here with you than go grocery shopping. We can do that together tomorrow.”

_Grocery shopping?_ Zak asked himself. “That’s a little domestic,” he mumbled, his eyelids closing on their own volition. “I was going to call Aaron tomorrow,” he continued, drifting off.

“You just spent four days with him! I get you tomorrow.”

Zak’s eyes flung open at the outburst. He didn’t even realize he said that out loud, but regardless… “It’s a part of our job to edit our film,” he retorted. “And we do it together.”

“Oh…,” Derrick said, wrapping his arms around Zak, pulling him in closer, before kissing him softly. “Sorry, I misunderstood. I didn’t realize it was for the show.”

Zak grunted, not returning the kiss. “You have to understand what I do for a living is not a standard 8 to 5 job. There’s a lot to do after an investigation too not just during,” he groaned before rolling over, giving Derrick his back. “I’m too tired to argue about this. You can stay or go, I don’t care, but I’m going to sleep.”

Derrick sighed as he rubbed Zak’s back as the elder man sunk into slumber. 

The next day, Aaron woke up unusually early, his body not willing to let him sleep. He had fought it all night and day, tossing and turning regardless of the sleeping pills he took. His mind would not shut off so he was thankful to be able to watch the videos from the last lockdown to get him off of being alone. But before he was even finished with his coffee and email, his phone buzzed with a text message. _What are you doing today?_ It was Zak. Aaron couldn’t stop the small smile on his face.

_Reviewing. Want to help?_

_Yeah I do. Ill be over in a min_

Aaron looked down at himself. Shit, he needed to shower if Zak was coming over there. Quickly, he grabbed his coffee cup and ran upstairs. Just minutes later, he heard the front door shut as he turned off the water. Stepping out, he grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist. “I’ll be down in a minute!” he shouted.

“Don’t hurry,” Zak said, smirking as he stepped into the doorway. Leaning against the doorjab, he crossed his arms over his chest, blatantly perusing Aaron’s body. “Sleep well?”

Aaron snorted, half out of surprise of seeing him in his bathroom doorway. “Bro, do you mind?”

“What? I’ve seen you naked!”

“Yeah but we’re not… doing that anymore,” Aaron said, going to the sink to get out his toothbrush.

Zak stood and watched him as he brushed his teeth, deep in thought as he watched the muscles in his arm work with the motion.

Spitting in the sink and rinsing out his mouth, Aaron turned to the man blocking him from his bedroom. “Seriously, bro.”

“Seriously,” he answered, reaching out and snatching the towel from around his waist. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Aaron’s hands flung to catch the towel before cupping himself. “Dude! What the hell?!”

“I broke up with Derrick.”

That sentence stopped Aaron dead. “You what?”

Zak shrugged, tossing the towel back towards the shower stall. “He didn’t make me happy.” Stepping closer to the bald, naked man, he wrapped his arms around his waist, kissing his lips softly. “You did. Those few days we spent together when you were pissed at Nick… being with you made me happy. Hell, even those two days with Nick made me happier than Derrick did.” 

“Zak… we still… when?”

“This morning when we woke up. I told him that it just wasn’t working. I didn’t want to drag him into this lifestyle.”

Soft kisses were rained over his face as Aaron stood still, taking in Zak’s words. Did he really break up with Derrick to be with them? With him? Warm hands rubbed over his skin, gently taking his hands from covering himself. Feeling the lithe fingers wrap around his half hard cock snapped Aaron back into the moment. Stepping back, he pushed Zak away from him. “No, dude, we can’t. Even if you did break up with him, it’s too soon. Hell, _I_ can’t, ok?” he said, reaching down for his towel.

Zak cursed at himself, running his hands over his head. “What do you want from me? You tell me in Chicago we can’t because of Derrick. Now I broke up with Derrick and we still can’t! What the hell, Aaron? Did Nick tell you not to?”

Aaron snorted, trying to shove the younger man out of his bathroom. “No, Nick didn’t tell me anything. I’m just not comfortable with it yet, man. Just give me a few days to get used to you being single again. And for _you_ too, bro.”

Huffing, Zak walked down the stairs, rejected again. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket as he sat on the couch, waiting for Aaron to come down. Undoubtedly, it was from Derrick. Pulling it out, he read the text message. _Coming by the bar tonight?_

Zak smirked. Not if he could help it. He wanted to experience sex with Aaron. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but it had become his mission and he was willing to lie to get his way. So far, he had experience with two men, the second a rather rough fuck in a sex club. He needed something to compare sex with Derrick to, and he knew Aaron would be gentle and good. Hell, if Nick screaming through the walls of hotel rooms was anything to judge by, it might be a spiritual experience. So today he was spending with his bald sidekick. _Probably not but I might see you tomorrow he texted back._

Aaron came down the stairs, smiling as he saw Zak on his sofa. “Keeping your hands to yourself down here?”

Zak snorted. “Unfortunately.”

“Do you want to go into the office downtown or review here?” he asked, as he picked up his bag with the discs from the previous three days in it.

Zak’s hand rested on the small of his back as he stood back up. “Zak…,” he said warningly.

“I just want this… one small thing…,” he said, bringing his hand up to cup the side of his face. “Please Aaron. Just one.”

He sighed and rolled his eyes before leaning in. The kiss was softer, gentler than he was expecting. Slowly, he fell into it, putting the discs on the counter next to him before wrapping his arms around Zak’s waist, pulling him in closer.

Zak moaned as he felt the strong hands encircle his waist, bringing his own up higher on Aaron’s back, bringing their bodies closer. Opening his mouth, he let Aaron take over the kiss, feeling his heartbeat speed up with arousal. Seconds later, Aaron pulled back, breaking the kiss, leaning his forehead against the younger man’s shoulder. “Fuck, Zak.”

Zak smirked. “I tried to get you to earlier, but you said no.”

Aaron snorted into his shoulder. Standing up straight, he looked him in the eye. “You broke up with Derrick.”

“Derrick who?”

Fingers danced along the hem of his shirt. Zak could feel the tickle as Aaron contemplated his next move. Before any attempt at diversion was made, he quickly stripped it off over his head, discarding it behind him. “Felt like it was getting in the way,” he said when he was given a bewildered look.

Lust overtook the darkness in Aaron’s eyes as he scanned the body in front of him. Zak knew he was winning as he ran his fingers gently up under his t-shirt, barely touching the pale skin that he knew it hid. The muscle twitched beneath the light touch of his fingertips. Smiling, he leaned in, brushing his lips softly against Aaron’s, whispering, “I’ve missed touching you.”

“Dammit, Zak,” he whispered back.

Running his fingers down, over the zipper of Aaron’s jeans, Zak smirked at the hardness he felt encased in the denim. “I definitely think we should review the evidence here. No need to drive all the way into the office.”

“Yeah… evidence,” Aaron said, picking back up the discs and walking into his office, Zak following obediently behind him. Clearing his throat, he grabbed a disc from the case and put it in the computer, sitting down in his office chair as it loaded, trying to ignore his hardon and the man who caused it. Wiping his hands on his pants distracted him, keeping him from putting them on Zak. It was so tempting, having this man here, wanting him. Aaron tried to tell himself not to believe everything he says because he knows Zak. He will tell you just about anything to get his way. On nearly every lockdown he’s heard something that wasn’t quite right just so they could get a little more access to an area. Zak always just flashes that smile, puts on the charm, and he gets his way. Aaron had to will himself not to give in. He had been able to say no twice now; he could do it a third time, but his will power was breaking.

Zak stood behind him, hands on his shoulders. “Why are you so tense?” he asked, starting to gently work his hands around the muscle. “Relax.”

Aaron grunted as the video came up, making sure his speakers were on as he hit play. They watched and listened to the video for a few minutes, Zak’s hands still working around the muscle, wandering down towards his chest. Looking down, he saw that Aaron’s eyes were closed as he stroked gently over his collarbone, resting his head back against his stomach. Leaning down, Zak tilted his head up slightly, gently kissing him. “Not reviewing much with your eyes closed.”

“We can’t do this,” he answered, his voice husky and his eyes still closed.

“Why not? You have Nick’s permission and Derrick is gone.”

“It just seems wrong so soon after you broke up with him.”

Zak smiled against his lips. “Aaron, we dated for one week. It’s not like I fell in love with him.”

Aaron hummed. He didn’t take the time frame in mind. One week is not a lot of time and he supposed if he took his own advice to Nick, Zak _had_ been experimenting and he _did_ come back to them. Well, at least he came back to him… “What about Nick?”

“What about him?’

“You can’t just be with me. It’s an all or nothing deal, Zak.”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll talk to him on the next lockdown,” he diverted.

Aaron stood up from the desk chair, taking Zak into his arms, gently leading him backwards toward the sofa. “Or we could call him later,” he said, sensing Zak’s hesitation.

Zak nodded as he felt the couch hit the back of his legs, sinking down on it. “Yeah, ok. We can call him after…”

Aaron stood before him, running his hands through Zak’s productless hair, enjoying the feeling of the soft curls against his palm. Hands fumbled at his waist as they rushed to get his pants and boxers down. “Missed this,” Zak mumbled before taking the head of the bobbing cock in front of him in his mouth.

Aaron chuckled softly, watching more and more of his shaft disappear into the wet, needy mouth. Pulling his shirt off, he said, “You only had it once, how could you miss it?”

Zak popped off, hands going to his own pants, working them down his legs. “Not that… I missed…” The blush crept up his neck and into his cheeks. “I missed being close to you, just being able to be with you without you feeling like either of us are cheating.” 

Smiling, Aaron pushed Zak’s shoulders back until he was laying down on the sofa. Walking over to the drawer of the desk, he pulled out a small tube of lube and a condom. Zak lifted his leg on the back of the sofa, planting the other foot on the floor, opening himself up as much as possible as Aaron knelt between his them. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Zak rolled his eyes but smiled, “No, I’m sitting here stroking my hard cock, spreading my legs for you just for shits and giggles.”

Aaron smacked the inside of his thigh before spreading some lube on his fingers. “Smartass,” he mumbled, rubbing his index finger over the puckered hole. He watched as Zak’s body reacted to the touch. Teeth gently biting his lower lip; a soft flush on his chest and arms; his cock at full attention as his right hand stroked it slowly. Lust filled eyes watched him carefully as he breached him, first one finger, then a second. “Don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

Zak just nodded. He knew this routine by now. It wasn’t his favorite part, but it was necessary.

Tossing the lube off the side of the couch, Aaron stroked his cock with the lube left on his fingers before pressing the blunt head against his opening. Closing his eyes, he pushed in gently. He heard the soft sigh Zak let out, feeling his hands come up to his arms, holding on. So _tight_ , he thought. Gently he rocked in shallowly, allowing Zak time to stretch and get used to being filled, even though the previous night he had probably… Aaron shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that. Opening his eyes, he ran his hands softly down the pale chest, tweaking a hardened nipple as he went by. Derrick _didn’t_ matter anymore. He was just a stepping stone that brought Zak here.

“Please, Aaron,” Zak groaned, anchoring his feet and pushing back against the older man. “Harder.”

Aaron grinned, placing one hand by Zak’s head on the armrest and the other on a slender hip, he rocked hard, forcing the body beneath him to rock with his motions. He loved the sounds Zak made as their bodies met. Soft moans and gentle, unintelligible words surrounded him as he let himself fall down into the pit that encompassed his growing feelings. Almost on cue, he heard his phone start to ring in the other room… Nick’s ringtone. Closing his eyes again, he buried his face in Zak’s neck, focusing his attentions on the salty skin and the movement of his body. From here, he could feel Zak’s heartbeat against his skin. He bit down on the tendon in his neck gently as the phone ceased ringing. “Right here, this moment, with you,” he muttered.

Zak’s hips stuttered against him as he wrapped his arms around Aaron, pulling their bodies closer together. The slick slide of the cock between them did not go unnoticed. Aaron wound his hand between their bodies, rubbing his thumb over the head before stroking it in time with his thrusts. He watched the beautiful dance as Zak’s back arched with the touch, his eyelashes fluttering against his tan skin, mouth forming a near perfect “O”. Emotion nearly overwhelmed him as those eyes opened again, dark with lust, focusing on him. Leaning down, he gently kissed the swollen lips. “You are so beautiful.”

Wrapping his hands around the back of Aaron’s bald head, he kissed him deeply, moaning as he released between their bodies. Aaron let the body beneath him ride the wave of pleasure as he felt muscles tense around him. As he came down from his high, his hips found a punishing rhythm as he sought his own release. Zak’s hands clutched at his arms anchored beside his body, trying desperately to hold onto something as Aaron moaned his name, hips finally stilling.

Pulling out, Aaron wobbly sat on the end of the sofa, leaning his head back against the wall, regaining his composure. Zak grunted as he stretched his legs, laying them over Aaron’s naked lap. “It’s still so weird being able to _feel_ that release inside.”

“You can feel that?”

Zak just shrugged. “Can’t you?”

Aaron thought for a moment. “I guess sometimes… but most of the time I don’t really pay attention.”

Zak stood up from the couch, heading for the hallway bathroom. “Maybe next time I’ll get to fuck you and you can see what I mean.”

Aaron snorted but watched as Zak walked away from him until he had turned the corner. Sighing, he leaned back again, closing his eyes. What the hell was he getting himself into? Again! He needed to talk with Nick about this new situation. Hearing Zak come out of the bathroom he hollered for him to get his phone and bring it in to him. Leaning over, he grabbed his boxers from the floor, pulling them on just as Zak came back in the room, handing him the phone.

Zak pulled on his own boxers before laying back down on the couch, resting his head against Aaron’s leg. “Are we calling Nick?”

“Yeah, he called, so let me listen to his voicemail first.” Pressing the speed-dial button, he couldn’t help but smile as Nick’s cheerful voice came through his speakerphone.

“Hey, it’s just me. I know we just left yesterday but I can’t stop thinking about you. Hope your day is going well. I know we’re going to Skype later, but call me back anyways. Love you.”

Zak rolled his eyes. “I’ve never heard Nick be so sappy.”

Aaron chuckled as he pressed send to call Nick. “He’s super sappy. You’ve just never given him a reason to be sappy until now.”

“Hey, let me walk outside. Hold on a minute,” Nick said, sounding distracted. Aaron’s brow furrowed as he heard the sliding glass door close on the other end of the line. “Ok, that’s better. Hey handsome.”

Zak snorted.

“Hey, did we call at a bad time?”

“No, no. I was just inside with Annabelle and she’s starting to repeat full conversations so it’s best if I just walk away. And who is we?”

“Hey Nick,” Zak said.

“Oh… hey. How’s Derrick?” Nick asked, his voice revealing the inevitable sneer.

“Broke up with him,” Zak stated simply. “That’s why we’re calling.”

The line was silent for a full minute so Aaron broke in. “Zak wants to date us.”

“Oh, does he?”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Don’t be like that. You guys spent a night together at the hotel in Chicago.”

Zak chuckled, “And you told me you love me. You’ve _always_ loved me.”

Nick sighed, defeated. “Yeah, okay fine. Welcome to the relationship, Zak. You will not be rubbing that in my face any time you want something.”

“Looovveee me.”

“Okay, okay, we have some evidence to review. I’ll Skype you later after we get through a few hours of tape.”

“Okay, I guess. Why can’t we Skype while you’re reviewing?”

“Because we tried that once remember? We didn’t get anything done.”

“I can be very distracting,” Nick said, his sinister smile clear in his tone.

“Yeah, I know. So we’ll call you after a bit.”

“Miss you. Love you. I guess you too, Bagans.”

Zak grinned as Aaron said his goodbyes and hit the end call on his phone. It was weirdly comfortable being invited into the world he had watched develop from the outside. It was like a secret society that he had finally earned the rights to join. Now he just had to figure out how to keep his membership in this relationship while maintaining the other.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Nick sat in his lounge chair, Annabelle dosing off in his arms as they watched Tinkerbelle for the third time that day. The thought of Zak dumping Derrick so soon after getting back from lockdown rolled through his mind on a continuous loop of repetitive questions. Maybe he really did break up with him…Maybe Zak told him about what happened at the club and Derrick dumped him and he just didn’t want to admit it to everyone...Or maybe they didn’t really break up at all. Regardless, something just seemed a little odd. 

His phone vibrated on the table next to him. Shifting Annabelle over to his hip, he stood up to lay her down on the couch before picking it up. It was a text from Aaron telling him to get on Skype. Looking back once more at his daughter, checking to make sure she was still asleep, he crept away to his office.

Pulling up his Skype account, he called Aaron, grinning widely as his bald head appeared on the screen. “Hey, where’s your new attachment?”

Aaron shrugged. “He went home but he said he’d be back over tonight.”

“Something doesn’t seem right about this, Aaron.”

He nodded, sighing. “I know. I don’t want to think about that, but I know. I mean, it’s so soon after he announced to us that they were even dating. Do you think he told him about what you guys did at that bar?”

Nick shook his head. “I don’t know. I was wondering that too. And then if Derrick broke up with him because of that and Zak just didn’t want to say so.”

“I don’t know, bro. He seemed into it though… like not upset or anything. All touching and kissing and… you know.”

Nick grinned, leaning closer into his webcam on the monitor. “You had sex with him before you called me this afternoon didn’t you?” Aaron’s blush gave him away. “Well you’re the last of three men to screw him. Glad you finally popped his Aaron cherry.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Whatever, dude. At least _I_ waited until he broke up with his boyfriend.”

Nick snorted. “That guy was never a boyfriend. He was just a… a… play thing. To figure out what he wants.”

“Then why are you so suspicious of Zak if Derrick was just a play thing?”

Nick shrugged, looking down at the keyboard. “Just doesn’t seem right. Aaron, why don’t you go talk with Derrick at the bar?”

“Bro… no. I’m not going in there.”

Nick leaned in close to the camera, smirking slightly as he tilted his head to the side. “I’ll make it worth your while…”

Aaron’s right eyebrow raised dramatically. “No…”

“Oh yeah. I will. That’s a promise. Next lockdown…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aaron wandered into the Pink Flamingo in the middle of the afternoon, desperately hoping that Derrick wasn’t working so he could just turn around and leave. Unfortunately, the semi-familiar head of sandy blond hair peaked up from the bar as he wiped down the ice chest. Sitting down close to him, Aaron took his moment to check out this younger man who had caught Zak’s attention. He was definitely young; Aaron would have to say around twenty-five but he wasn’t sure. The blond hair made him look like a surfer, which was just odd in Las Vegas. He had a nice build but wasn’t bulky; and yeah, Zak was right, he had eyes that were very similar to Nick’s, which were focused directly on him. Quickly, he snapped to and smiled brightly. Derrick walked up to him, “Hey Aaron. Wasn’t really expecting to see you around here.”

Aaron shrugged. He had worked up a thousand excuses as to why he would be in this bar, the best one he could come up with was, “Well thought I’d try to get to know the man who caught Zak’s eye a bit more. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

Derrick grinned brightly as he leaned down to grab a glass. “And I’ll never tell. What can I get you?”

Aaron ordered a beer and watched as Derrick walked to the other side of the bar towards the taps. In that shining smile Aaron knew Zak had lied to them, to _him_. His heart broke in his chest. Pulling out his phone, he texted Nick as Derrick set the beer down in front of him. _At the bar. Zak lied._

He and Derrick chatted for the better part of an hour, Aaron nursing that one beer, feeling his phone vibrating relentlessly in his pocket as Nick was no doubt on a text rant. He didn’t blame Zak for enjoying this guy’s company. He really was a nice guy. At the end of the hour, Aaron closed his tab. Sighing, he headed out to his car, just sitting behind the wheel for a moment. He didn’t want to confront Zak about it. Who knows his reasoning for what he said? Zak had never lied to them without reasoning. Pulling out his phone, he checked his messages. Most were from Nick but there was one from Zak…

_Hey, went by your house but guess I missed you. Text me when you get home._

Aaron smiled sadly down at his phone. _Oh, Zak._

Just then, a black Bentley roared into the parking lot. Aaron slunk down in his driver’s seat, desperately hoping that Zak didn’t recognize his car or see him in it. Sure enough, he walked right into the bar without a glance towards the other cars in the parking lot. The man walked with purpose, Aaron knew that step. He had seen the determination in his footsteps before.

Aaron drove off, dialing Nick’s number as he sped away from the brightly lit establishment and Zak Bagans. “Aaron!” Nick’s voice came strongly through the receiver.

“Dude, don’t yell at me. I’m not the one who lied!”

He heard Nick sigh on the other end of the line. “I know, just what the hell man? Does Zak even know what he wants?”

Aaron grunted in response. Their phone call was short. Veronique was home and in a mood because Nick was pissed at Zak but he couldn’t tell her why. Zak always knew what he wanted. _Always_. And he would maneuver his way into getting it anyway he could, which made Aaron question this whole situation. Though he still held on to the hope with the purpose of Zak’s walk into the bar. Maybe he was going to break up with Derrick then. Or maybe Derrick just didn’t get it when Zak broke up with him that morning. Aaron had dated girls like that, who just didn’t have a clue. The approaching night seemed stagnant as he pulled into his driveway. The air was heavy around him and it reminded him of a lockdown night, the dread and anticipation of a confrontation settling in his stomach.

His neighbor greeted him as Aaron wandered down to his mailbox before going into the house, collecting the assortment of bills and junk mail. “Saw Zak today. He seemed friendlier than usual,” his neighbor said.

Aaron shrugged. “Sometimes you just gotta hit him right,” he smiled. 

Throwing the mail down on the kitchen counter, Aaron walked slowly upstairs towards the shower to wash the stink from the bar off of himself. A million scenarios went through his mind. Should he confront Zak? Wait for him to come clean? Maybe go back and visit Derrick tomorrow and he’ll get a story about how Zak rolled in there and broke up with him right after he left? Sighing, he decided to let it go. Nick had Veronique and a child. Why shouldn’t Zak have someone else besides him too? It seemed fair.

Back down in the living room, Aaron slouched down into the couch. The room around him illuminated with each flick of his finger across the tv screen, trying to find a movie or something to watch to get his mind off of everything. Here he had thought he finally had what he wanted- someone here who was willing to be with him because he was _Aaron_ , not Aaron Goodwin from Ghost Adventures. Just Aaron. Someone who, hell, maybe he could just be with for long term. Adopt or have a few kids with. Had he intended for it to be a man? Hell no. It just so happened that way. But then Nick kissed him and life had changed. 

Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed a beer from the fridge, popping the top off before returning to the sofa. Nick had never promised him forever. He had made promises for moments, days… Those days had turned into years, but it might still all coming crashing down tomorrow. When he held Annabelle in his arms, it brought tears to his eyes. He had always wanted kids. Then, when he started dating Nick, he thought maybe, just maybe, he’d bring her around a bit, but that never happened. He was still crazy Uncle Aaron who lived a zillion miles away.

 _That first beer went awfully fast_ , he thought as he shuffled back into the kitchen. His front door opened just as he was shutting the fridge door. Zak walked through, carrying a bag of dog food and a bowl into the house, quickly followed by Gracie. Dropping the dog food and bowl on the table, Zak placed a quick peck on the side of his mouth before pouring some water into the bowl. “Hope you don’t mind. I wanted to spend the night with you but I didn’t have anyone to watch her.” Zak turned to him, smiling brightly as the water still poured into the stainless steel. “She loves you anyways.”

Aaron smiled as he bent down to pet Gracie, scratching extra hard behind her ears. “I love her too,” he said. He nearly snorted. Nick wasn’t willing to share his daughter, but here Zak was bringing his dog over. He considered it a decent substitute. This was some kind of fucked up reality he lived in.

He stood back up straight as Zak finished filling the water bowl, placing it down on the tile floor for his dog. Standing back up, hands on his hips, he worried his lower lip between his teeth. “I hope its ok that I’m here… I realize I didn’t ask if I could stay… I could go…,” he mumbled.

Aaron nearly wept as he pulled Zak’s body into his, capturing those full pink lips with his own. “Of course you can stay.” Wrapping his arms tight around the slightly shorter man, he felt so small in his arms. “Did you go to the gym today?”

Zak rested his head on Aaron’s shoulder, closing his eyes as his arms fell loosely around the thin hips. “Nah, I had some errands I needed to run.”

Aaron nodded. Running his hands down the strong back, he thought that Zak was wearing the same clothes that he saw him in when he went into the bar. He didn’t smell of smoke or alcohol so he must not have been there long, giving him hope that Zak really did just break it off with Derrick before grabbing his dog and coming over. Closing his eyes, he kissed the soft skin at the base of Zak’s strong jawline. Raising his head, Zak’s lips sought his again, kissing him slow and lazy.

In the distance, Aaron heard his phone ringing with Nick’s specific tone. Deep down he knew he loved Nick, but here in his arms may be something new. Nuzzling against the warm cheek, he thought maybe he hadn’t lost what he thought he had with Zak. Maybe it really was just beginning.

Two thousand miles away Nick looked down at his phone. Aaron wasn’t answering. The last time Aaron didn’t answer he was with Zak. Nick sighed, staring out at the stars as he sat on his back patio. He couldn’t help but feel like he was being replaced, though he knew that probably wasn’t the case. They were both disappointed that the fearless leader of their trio would lie to them about who he was dating. But what really nagged at the far reaches of his brain was why? Why would Zak lie over something like that? He couldn’t bring himself to think that it would be to get into Aaron’s pants. Surely Derrick was screwing Zak. They had already had sex so it’s not like he’s one of those people who waits for God knows what. Flipping his phone over repeatedly in his hand, he sat and thought. Their next lockdown was the following week. He and Aaron didn’t have a plan for a confrontation with Zak. They needed to discuss that because this was something that needed to be planned and talked about so they were on the same page. Aaron always had a weak spot when it came to Zak. Nick did too, he knew, but not to the extent that Aaron did. That might be their downfall…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Aaron heard Nick calling again as he guided Zak up the stairs to his bedroom. Zak turned as he heard it, but the hand holding his tugged so he continued walking. “You don’t want to get that?” he asked.

Aaron shook his head. “No, tonight I’m with you.”

Zak smiled pulling his shirt over his head as they reached the landing. Aaron started to undo his pants while hands pushed up his shirt. Slowly, Zak moved him backwards while wrestling the cotton off the body in front of him, tossing it to the corner of the room. Hands roamed over thin, lithe muscle, urging Aaron to sit on the bed and lean back as his sweatpants were taken off. Those same hands gently rubbed the stiff cock in the grey boxer briefs.

Aaron pushed him back, guiding his belt out of the loops, helping Zak push his pants and boxers down off his body before turning them, laying the light-eyed man down on the bed. Climbing over him, Aaron stopped, gazing down as he laid his body along the muscular figure. “Why are you here, Zak?”

Confusion clouded the strong features. “What do you mean?”

“Here… do you really want to be with us or are you still experimenting?”

Zak’s hands ran up Aaron’s back before cupping his face. His own features softened as he whispered, “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be with you.”

Aaron nodded slightly, brushing his lips against the pliant pout. His heart fell for it, but his mind still wasn’t sure. He trusted Zak, even loved him to a point, so the thought of anything he said not being true hurt him deeply.

For tonight though, he would ignore that.

Running his hands down the strong chest beneath him, he bent down, tracing kisses along his sternum, feeling it rise and fall with deep breaths against his lips. Ever so slowly, he moved south, fingers pushing under the band of his boxer briefs. “Aaron?” Zak whispered, questioningly. 

Aaron just smiled against the soft, pale skin that no one else got to see. With the tap of a hip, Zak took the cue and raised up just enough, allowing his boxers to be pulled off his hips and flung down off his feet. His hard cock smacked against his stomach with the movement, almost as an audible invitation.

Aaron licked slowly from base to tip before taking the head in his mouth, sucking gently. Zak groaned, hands instantly flying to the back of the bald head as it slowly started to bob on his dick. A swirl of his tongue elicited a curse. An extra hard suck as he worked his way back up made the thighs on either side of his head twitch. “Please,” Zak whimpered, pushing at Aaron’s shoulders. “Want to… need to…”

Aaron took the cue, moving back up his body. Zak pushed his boxers down over his hips so Aaron could wiggle them off before laying his body flat against him. His kiss was met with a new ferocity as Zak’s hips rolled up against him, the wetness just enough to help the slide. Aaron grunted as he started to move back against him, rolling his hips down slowly. Blue eyes bored up into his, the pupils dilated with lust. Leaning down, he placed heavy, sucking kisses along the thick neck, biting down hard at the juncture with his shoulder. Hands clutched tightly at his back as he licked the reddened wound. Aaron grunted as he saw his teeth marks left in the tan skin. He didn’t normally like leaving marks like that, but he wanted Derrick to see it. He wanted to lay claim, as immature as it was. Rolling his hips down extra hard, Aaron watched as the beautiful eyelashes fluttered as the hips beneath him responded.

One more hard roll and wet warmth pooled between them, surprise written across Zak’s face as he came. Aaron chuckled as he still rutted against his hip. “Good?” he asked, his voice deep with arousal.

Zak’s body slacked against the bed, his hands still clinging to Aaron’s sweaty back. “Holy fucking shit,” he groaned.

Aaron laughed, picking up speed, the mattress moving with his movement. Zak leaned up, capturing his lips before kissing around to his ear, hands moving down to grab his ass roughly pulling him against his body. “Cum on me, Aaron,” he whispered.

A soft shudder and his hips stilled, his cum joining Zak’s on his stomach. Groaning, Aaron rolled over, resting a moment before getting up and grabbing some toilet paper to wipe off Zak’s stomach. 

Placing a soft kiss at the corner of his mouth, Zak stood up, grabbing his boxers and sliding them up his legs. “I gotta go let Gracie out. I’ll be back.”

Aaron nodded, putting on his own boxers before climbing back in the bed to wait. His mind wandered to Nick, so far away from him right now. The man had called twice within a span of five to ten minutes. Surely he knew who he was with and what he was doing. Was he going to be pissed? Jealous? A combination of the two? Aaron knew that their youngest was not going to be happy, but what was he supposed to do? Confront Zak? That wasn’t going to happen. 

Zak smiled as he walked back into the room, sliding into the bed and curling himself around Aaron’s prostrate body. Closing his eyes, Zak whispered, “Thanks for letting me stay.”

Aaron placed a soft kiss on his forehead, adjusting his arm so he was more comfortable. “Thanks for coming over.”

A jarring vibration interrupted their peace. Zak winced, “My cell.”

“Maybe you should get it.”

Grunting, he rolled off the bed, digging through his pants pocket and pulling out the offending device. Quickly, he silenced it before throwing it on the floor and turning out the light. “Not important,” he muttered, climbing back into bed.

Aaron rested his head against Zak’s forehead. The phone on the floor lit up again, indicting a voicemail. Aaron could see the screen in the mirror. _1 missed call from Derrick_.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Nick carefully rolled his bag out the door of his house. The note was left along with a kiss on the forehead of both his wife and daughter. There was no other way to explain his sudden leaving in the middle of the night other than an emergency with Zak and Aaron. He knew that would worry his wife, but at this point, he didn’t care. She will be pissed and upset all while hoping the two men were okay.

In truth, Nick wasn’t sure any of them were okay. They had entered into this crazy vortex that wouldn’t stop spinning. Why was it that every time Zak was involved in something things became more complicated? He and Aaron had a great relationship before he joined in. The sun was just coming up over the horizon as the taxicab pulled up to take him to the airport. He gave one last long look back at his house, fully not expecting to see it or his family for two weeks. There were issues that he needed to fix back in Vegas with his second family. Right now, those were more pressing. He had a plan, though he knew it was a stupid plan, but regardless, something had to be done. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Zak nestled deeper into Aaron as the late morning sun shone through the window. Rolling over, facing away from the offending light, he wondered if Aaron would mind him buying a blackout curtain for his bedroom. The older man grunted as the warmth and weight left him but otherwise did not make a move. Closing his eyes, he sank back into slumber, only to be woken up an hour later by a cold nose on his hand.

“Ok, Gracie, I’m up,” he said, swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. Sighing, he stretched, glancing back over his shoulder at the still sleeping figure. Leaning down, he placed a soft kiss on his chin before going downstairs to let the dog out. Barefoot and half naked, he padded around the downstairs, getting out the orange juice after opening the backdoor for his dog. He refilled her food bowl while chugging a glass down. Letting Gracie back inside, he laid down on the couch, running through his mental checklist of things to do for the day. Little did he notice Aaron sitting on top of the landing watching him.

The thoughts running through Aaron’s head of positives and negatives would not cease. He loved waking up in the middle of the night, feeling Zak laying there with him, hearing his little baby snores beside him. He loved how comfortable he was in his home, laying on his couch in his boxer shorts, his dog laying below him. This was the domestic scene that he had always envisioned for himself. Not necessarily with Zak, but in general. Originally Nick had been there with Annabelle running around the house somewhere. But with Zak… this just seemed so much more… possible. He just had to figure out what was up with this Derrick situation. Standing up, he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, starting a pot of coffee. “Morning sunshine.”

“You’re up early. Don’t you know it’s not quite noon yet?” Zak said, smiling as he entered the kitchen.

“Well the bed lost a whole 98.6 degrees so it got a little cold. What do you have going on today?”

“I have a few meetings and some Skype calls I have to make. I need to get in the gym.”

“You are looking a little flabby there,” Aaron chided.

Zak flipped him off. “What about you?”

“About the same. I told Billy I’d meet him to review evidence in a few hours so I was going to do some Big Steppin stuff before then.”

“Okay… so dinner tonight? How about I cook?”

Aaron nodded, filling his coffeecup. “Sure, just let me know when.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nick rolled his suitcase through the familiar airport, hailing a taxicab. He pulled out his cell phone, sending out a quick text to Aaron. _Morning_

Seconds later, his text was answered. _Hey, morning_

 _How’s Zak?_ He asked as the cab pulled away from the curb.

_Good. Just left. Busy day but we’re going to meet for dinner. He’s cooking!_

_Eat beforehand_

_Not nice_

Nick smiled, knowing that he would have Aaron to himself for a bit. Time to set his plan in motion.

The cab dropped him off at the end of the street. He didn’t want the noise of the car alerting Aaron that he was there. It had to be a complete surprise. Sitting his suitcase on the front porch step, he unzipped the top pocket, not surprised to find a note from the TSA that his bag had been handchecked. Pulling out the bag that he needed, he took out his key and let himself in. Closing the door behind himself quietly, he stopped and listened to see if he could locate Aaron in the house. He heard him on a phone call over in his office so he quickly crept up the stairs and into the bedroom. Ten minutes of prep, that was all he needed. Hopefully that phone call would last that long.

With everything set, Nick had to figure out a way to get Aaron to come up to the bedroom without making his presence known still. The best way to get any of their attention, he figured, was to knock something over that would make a loud noise, but Aaron’s bedroom was fairly sparse. Walking back out into the hallway, he smacked a few paintings, one of them crashing to the ground. He heard Aaron’s voice stop from down the stairs. Grabbing the picture, he turned out the lights and propped the painting up against the bed so Aaron would see it from the hallway when he came up the stairs. Backing up, Nick stood in the darkness of the room next to the door, waiting.

“Hey man, can I call you back in a few minutes? I got some activity going on here with my paintings… yeah yeah just give me a bit.” Heavy footsteps started up the stairs. “I _told_ you not to screw with my paintings. That’s not cool man,” Aaron said as he walked. Standing on the landing, he looked at the picture leaning against the bed. “That’s never happened before,” he mumbled, walking into the room.

Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind and whirled around. “The _fuck_?!” he screamed as he landed hard against the bed, bouncing once. The picture fell forward onto the carpet with the sudden movement on the bed.

“Miss me?” Nick said, laying his body against his captive’s.

“Oh my _God_ , Nick! You about gave me a heart attack. Hell yes I missed you,” he sighed in relief, wrapping his arms around the younger man’s back. His heartbeat calming, he noticed the sweet smell in the room. “What’s going on? Why are you here?”

Nick smiled as he stood up, grabbing the matches from the dresser and lighting the candles he had placed around the room. “I couldn’t wait for the next lockdown. I wanted to make good on my promise now.”

Aaron sat up, looking all around him at the candles. The sweet smell was from the red rose petals on the bed. He snorted. “Seriously?”

“Hey, you like romance.”

“I do like romance,” he smiled. “This wasn’t what I had in mind for your promise, but it works.”

Nick’s smile turned devious as he pulled the handcuffs from his pants pocket. “No, I know exactly what you wanted.”

Aaron’s heart beat faster in his chest as the silver glinted in the light of the candles. “Scoot up on the bed,” Nick said, his voice turning slightly harsh.

“Dude,” he whispered, his mouth going dry. They didn’t play like this often, and he thanked God for that because when Nick got that tone of voice all of his inhibitions left him. Slowly, he scooted up to the headboard, taking his shirt off as he went.

Nick grinned as he straddled the thin body. “Hands,” he said. Two wrists were obediently presented to him. Quickly, he snapped the cuffs on him, laying the older man down on the bed. Pulling up the second set of cuffs he had already hooked to the bedframe, he cuffed them to the chain of the ones around Aaron’s wrists. “Now you’re not going anywhere. No work today. You’re mine,” he smiled, leaning down and kissing him softly. “Think you can handle that?”

“Fuck, Nick,” Aaron groaned. “You need to break into my house more often.”

Nick laughed. “You’re supposed to be terrified.”

“How the fuck can I be terrified when I’m so turned on? I mean, holy shit,” he groaned.

Slowly, Nick took off his shirt and tossed it beside the bed. “Turned on, huh?”

Aaron nodded. Nick sat down more on his legs, rubbing their clothed hips together. “Hm, I don’t know. I seem to remember you getting laid fairly frequently and recently from a certain blue eyed someone.”

Rolling his hips up, trying to urge the younger man to hurry up with whatever he had planned, Aaron groaned. “There’s no one like you, you know that.”

Nick’s hands went for his own pants, undoing them slowly before moving to pull Aaron’s basketball shorts down from his body. “Do I know that?” he asked. Running his hand over the hard cock in the grey boxer briefs, he smiled wickedly. “You don’t let him fuck you, do you?”

Aaron shook his head, his own smile forming on his lips. “No, that privilege is reserved.”

“Damn right it is,” he said, pulling the briefs down his legs and stepping off the bed to take off his own pants and boxers, sending rose petals flying everywhere. “Shit those were a bad idea.”

Aaron shrugged, as much as he could in his position. “They look and smell nice.”

Naked, Nick climbed back on the bed, his hard cock jutting out in front of him. “I thought you’d like them. The movies always make them seem romantic.”

“My skin is going to smell like roses,” he joked.

“Sweaty, cum filled roses,” Nick snorted, straddling his hips once again.

Aaron grunted as strong arms caged him in. “Want to touch you.”

Nick just shook his head as he reached over him to grab the condom and lube he set on the nightstand. Rolling the condom down over his cock, he looked up into Aaron’s eyes before opening the lube. In them, he saw something he didn’t recognize. “What’s wrong? Are you ok?”

Aaron just smiled and nodded, shifting uncomfortably in the handcuffs. “Still just can’t believe you’re in my house, in my bed.”

Nick grinned, squirting lube onto his finger before brushing it over Aaron’s entrance quickly and stroking his encased cock with the rest of the gel. “I don’t get any foreplay?” Aaron chided.

Nick groaned, positioning his cock. “How long has it been since we’ve had sex? Candles and rose petals, those are your foreplay.”

Aaron grunted as he was entered roughly, but the body caging him in paused in its motion as he leaned down, kissing his lips softly as he was allowed time to adjust. Slowly, Nick began to move, his hips starting a deliberate, well practiced rhythm as his hand wound in between their bodies to stroke Aaron. Grinning, he nipped at an earlobe, something he knew the older man loved but would never let him do. “I love having you at my mercy. I should pack handcuffs more often.”

Aaron laughed nervously, trying to pull his head away from the offending teeth. His whole body was on fire from the lack of control and the gentle caress of Nick’s hands on his body and the slow stroke of his dick inside him. Holding onto the handcuffs, he planted his feet, rocking back against Nick’s movements. Usually when they played like this, the sex was fast and fierce, but tonight was different. Nick’s touches were gentler, softer. The kisses lingered longer. Whispered words of love and encouragement filled the air as their bodies moved against each other. Aaron pleaded to be released from the handcuffs but Nick shook his head. A slight sheen of sweat had formed on the younger man’s chest as he rocked his hips forward, a slight swivel to the left brushing his cock over the bundle of nerves to help him Aaron forget about the restraints.

“Not going to last,” Nick murmured. Aaron just nodded, anchoring his feet behind Nick’s knees. His speed picked up, hips slamming against the back of his thighs. 

Aaron held on as the hand on his cock squeezed and stroked faster, his body tensing with his pending orgasm. “Fuck, Nick, almost…,” he grunted.

Nick nodded, readjusting his positioning, feeling his thighs start to tremble as his balls tightened. Aaron released onto his stomach seconds before the man above him stilled, his breath ragged and his heartbeat raging. Rolling over onto the other side of the bed, Nick breathed deeply a few times, staring at the ceiling before pulling the condom off, tying it and walking in the bathroom to toss it out. He came back with toilet paper and wiped off Aaron’s stomach.

“Think Zak will feel left out?” Aaron asked him as he walked back into the bathroom.

Nick looked at himself in the mirror as he toweled the sweat off his body. “Nah, I was going to go visit him next.”

Aaron’s right eyebrow was raised dramatically when he came back in the room. “Without me?”

Putting his boxers back on, he climbed back on the bed, straddling his lover. “Why do you think I didn’t want to take you out of the handcuffs?”

“Dude… you’re not going to…what the fuck bro?”

Nick leaned down and kissed him. “I don’t want you foiling my plan. You always fall asleep after sex anyways.”

“I do _not_ always fall asleep. What plan?”

Nick ignored him, but pulled the covers from underneath his body and threw them over his naked body so he wouldn’t be cold. “I won’t be gone long. I’ll let you out in like an hour.” With that, he dressed quickly and left the room, putting the painting back up on the wall on his way out.

Aaron sighed as he watched the ceiling fan turn, blowing the flames of the candles. He guessed an hour in handcuffs wasn’t _horrible_ … and Nick so owed him a massage after this. Whatever his plan was for Zak though, Aaron felt bad for him. Zak didn’t know how Nick played and how possessive he could get. And why was Nick going to Zak’s without him? Weren’t they all in this together now? He shifted uncomfortably, trying to stifle his slight feelings of jealousy. He kept telling himself that Zak had left him that morning with plans for that night and Nick had visited him first. His two men were spoiling him, but for some reason he still felt left out.

Nick took the keys to Aaron’s SUV and set his luggage inside the door, taking out the second special bag he packed just for Zak. He pulled out his cell phone, sending off a quick text message to determine if he was still home. _Hey Princess, how’s dinner coming?_

Zak responded fairly quickly. _Its not yet. On Skype call for another hour. This blows._

Nick snorted, putting the SUV into reverse and backing out of the driveway. At the stop sign at the end of the road, he texted back, _So do I and I’m way more fun._

_Then you should get over here_

Nick grinned. An invitation even! _I’m on my way._


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick stakes his claim

Nick pulled up into Zak’s driveway. Casually strolling up the sidewalk, black bag in hand, he took in the still Vegas air. He was still amazed at the difference between here and the east coast and the level of humidity. Gracie barked as he approached the front door, ringing the doorbell. He heard Zak cursing as he made his way to the door, vocally wondering who the hell made it through the gate without him knowing. Nick grinned widely as he opened the door, shock all over the fine features of the older man’s face. “Holy shit, bro. I thought you were kidding!” he exclaimed, quickly enveloping him in a hug and welcoming him inside. “Let me just end this call real quick.”

Nick nodded, petting Gracie as Zak disappeared back into his office. He heard him through the doorway, trying to end the call early. The other person was clearly not happy with the shortened meeting. “Yeah yeah, look I’ll call you back later. No, I just had a surprise visitor from the East Coast. I don’t know how long he’s going to be in town for.” Nick heard a muffled response before Zak just turned off the computer, sauntering out of the office. “So to what do I owe this pleasure?”

Nick shrugged, standing up straight from petting Gracie. “Guess I just wanted to come see my new boyfriend.”

Zak’s blush crept up his face quickly, over his ears and down his neck into his white t-shirt. He ducked his head, hiding his smile. “Well you didn’t have to come all this way…”

Moving closer to his prey, Nick dropped the black bag on the sofa cushions before pulling Zak’s body into him. “Why are you standing all the way over here? Can’t I greet you properly?” he said slyly.

Zak raised his head as Nick’s lips descended on his. Nick was inches taller than him anyway, but Zak being shoeless added to the difference. He realized he had never really kissed anyone taller than him, nor really as big as or bigger than him. Nick’s arms wrapped possessively around his body, hands splayed on his back as his tongue slowly worked along the older man’s. Zak’s head began to spin as he felt a light flutter in his lower stomach. As Nick pulled back, Zak realized he wasn’t in the dominant position, nor even an equal position. The thought both terrified him and left him wanting… “Fuck, Nick,” he breathed, not daring to open his eyes.

Soft kisses were laid around his face before returning to his lips. “We can do that too.” Zak laughed nervously as strong hands started to rub his back, a nose nuzzling against his cheek. “We didn’t really get our moment together, you know. You got pissed at me and walked out of the restaurant.”

Lips met his again and Zak couldn’t help but let out a small whine. The warm hands and insistent lips, and the _tone_ of Nick’s voice were driving him wild. He couldn’t gain control of himself and he needed to, he knew he needed to. “Zak,” he whispered. “Can I do it better for you this time? Show you how good I _really_ am?”

That was it. His mind was gone. He just simply nodded his answer, feeling himself being led up the stairs to his bedroom and the door closing behind them. The black bag made a loud thunk as it hit the floor, causing a bark from Gracie downstairs. Zak watched as Nick’s hands made fast work of his shirt and pants before motioning for him to slide up the bed. “Roll over,” he said, bending down into the bag.

Zak was obedient, rolling onto his front but watching as Nick derobed after dropping something on the bed. He assumed it was lube, but was so happy when he found out how wrong he was.

The warm hands moved over his back, the warming massage oil being expertly worked into his muscles. Soft moans filled the room as Nick worked, taking care to not miss a single expanse of skin. The smell of coconut filled the air as the oil was absorbed into his body. Zak’s eyes closed as the hands worked down his arms, moving down to massage his hands and fingers. “You can fly back to Vegas any day to see me,” he moaned into the sheets.

Nick snorted, laying his body down on the back of Zak’s as he finished his rub down. Gently nipping his earlobe, he whispered, “That’s to make up for how rough I was.” He was just answered with a simple nod, the body beneath him completely relaxed into the sheets. Nick ground his hips down against Zak’s ass through the double layers of cotton. “You know, that massage oil also doubles as lube.”

“Mmm, does it now?” Zak smiled against his pillow, eyes still closed. “Well since my boxers now smell like coconut anyways, I guess these should come off.” He felt the grin against the back of his neck. He raised his hips allowing his final piece of clothing to be removed. 

Placing a pillow under his hips as Nick stepped off the bed to take off his own underwear, he heard him grunt. “No, I want to see you.”

Zak rolled over onto his front, throwing the pillow off the side of the bed as Nick climbed back over him, laying his body down on top. They took their time in a slow languid kiss, hands roaming each others’ bodies. Nick’s hand ran down Zak’s chest, encircling his cock and stroking it slowly. “Fuck,” he breathed, moaning against the salty skin of Nick’s neck.

Nick chuckled. “Ready?” Zak simply nodded, spreading his legs. Wet fingers gently prodded his entrance. He wasn’t sure when or how Nick was able to get lube on them without him noticing, but he didn’t care. The fingers were removed and were replaced by the blunt head of a cock. A gentle nip of teeth against his neck distracted him as Nick entered him.

They laid like that for a few moments, Nick allowing him time to adjust as Zak just breathed. Opening his eyes, he looked up into the lust filled browns, a small smile forming on the face above him. “You ok?” he asked, his voice an octave deeper than normal.

Zak flexed his muscle surrounding Nick’s cock, causing the beautiful eyelashes above him to flutter. “I guess that’s a yes.” Slowly, he started to move, showering kisses on the tanned skin beneath him.

Zak grunted, wrapping his legs around Nick’s, fingers clutching his back as they moved together. The bed started to move with them as their hips pressed together faster and harder. Soft moans filled the air as sweat began to form on their bodies. Nick grunted as he felt fingernails scratch into his body. “Sorry,” Zak whispered.

Nick just smiled, kissing him roughly. “She’s found worse on me.”

Zak blushed, the thought of Aaron entering his mind but leaving just as quickly as it came with a swivel of Nick’s hips. He arched his back and let out a low, guttural moan as the cock inside him brushed against his prostate. “Fuck, Nick, do that again.”

Nick grinned, rutting until he found the spot again and driving against it. The body beneath him writhed in the sheets, fingers clutching at his skin, careful not to leave anymore marks on his body. Zak’s hand moved from Nick’s back to his own cock, stroking it quickly, in time with their movements.

Picking up his pace, Nick watched Zak’s hand move as the muscles in his stomach and arm danced. Muscle clenched around his cock seconds before white streaked across the tan abs, his hand slowing its movement. Nick continued to move during Zak’s orgasm. “So close,” he whispered, laying his head down on his shoulder. Zak nodded, wrapping his arms tightly around the body above him, consciously tightening his channel. A low moan escaped from his throat as he released into the condom, his body collapsing down on his lover.

Minutes passed as they lay together, tangled in a sweaty mess. Rolling over, Nick pulled the condom off his spent dick, tying it off and flinging it over the edge of the bed. Pulling Zak into him, he stroked his back and kissed his hairline. “Better than last time?”

“Oh my God, are you kidding? That was amazing…,” he yawned.

“Good,” Nick smiled up into the ceiling, his hand rubbing nonchalantly down Zak’s nude back. “Go to sleep.”

Zak just nodded against his chest, his eyes already closed. Within minutes, his breathing had evened out. Nick lay there, cradling him, enjoying the feeling of having him against his body. Silently, he plotted his next move.

Half an hour later, Nick slipped out from under Zak, pulling the covers over his nude body. He dressed quietly and made his way down the stairs. Gracie whined at him so he let her out, figuring it was best to do it now so she wouldn’t wake Zak up within the hour before he could finish his mission. He poured some food into her bowl too, just for good measure. Then, grabbing Zak’s cell phone and pocketing it, he was on his way.

The bar was still quiet. It was early enough in the afternoon that only a handful of cars were in the parking lot. Nick wasn’t sure which one was Derrick’s, but he hoped that the man was there. He pulled Aaron’s SUV into a parking space and took a few moments to think through his plan again. Mustering up his courage, he exited the vehicle and walked into the bar. Sure enough, he recognized the sandy blond man behind the bar. Derrick looked up as he heard the door open, his smile faltering only slightly as he saw who walked through the door.

Nick sat down as he came over. “Hey, Nick, wasn’t expecting to see you in here.”

He just shrugged. “I came to see my boyfriend.”

Derrick’s eyebrow raised dramatically. “Oh? How is Aaron?”

Nick shrugged again. “I don’t know, I was at Zak’s house.” The flicker in the brown eyes was the exact reaction he was looking for.

“Zak’s house? So you’re dating…”

“Zak, yeah. Can I get a Sam Adams?”

Derrick just nodded and walked away. He saw him get out his phone and send off a quick text message as he poured the beer into a glass. Zak’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Shocked recognition blazed across Derrick’s face as he came over with the beer, Zak’s phone in Nick’s hand. “Guess I grabbed Zak’s phone by mistake. You know our pants look the same on the floor…” He typed in Zak’s password, reading the message.

Derrick stood still in front of him as Nick turned the phone around to show him his own message. “What exactly do you and Zak need to talk about?” 

The young man just shrugged, backing away slightly. “Oh, just haven’t seen him in awhile. Thought we’d catch up.”

“Yeah, he told me you two broke up a few days ago. Sorry, man. I guess I shouldn’t have said anything,” he said with a smirk. This was going much better than he thought.

Hurt clouded the brown eyes across from him. “He said we broke up?”

“Oh, you weren’t aware? That would explain why he wasn’t talking to you then. Guess he didn’t know how to tell you he’s been wanting to get on my dick for awhile,” he growled.

Derrick turned his back to him, “I have other customers,” he mumbled and walked away towards the other end of the bar.

Nick smirked as he drank his beer, watching the blond as he moved around, filling other drink orders. Small glances were cast back to him every once in awhile, only to quickly look elsewhere. Looking at his watch, he saw that it had been two hours since he had left Aaron in handcuffs. He hummed, knowing that he couldn’t check his phone from his position on the bed so sending a text message would be pointless. He was sure he’d be done here soon, but he wanted to get the point across that Derrick needed to not contact Zak ever again. As he finished his beer, Derrick walked back over. “Another one?” 

Nick just shook his head and threw a $20 bill on the bar. “Keep it. Consider it a parting gift,” he said and walked out the door.

Walking back to the SUV, he breathed a sigh of relief. Everything could go back to normal, or at least as normal as it could be. He didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind him before he was shoved face first into the door of the car. “The fuck?” he said, whirling around.

“That fuck did you come here for?! To tell me that my BOYFRIEND is fucking you?”

Nick chuckled, “He’s not your boyfriend, man. Deal with it.”

“He was my boyfriend before you decided you wanted him!”

“I didn’t decide anything!” he said, his voice raising. A public fight in the parking lot of a gay bar was not how he wanted to come out in the tabloids. This needed to end quickly. He closed the distance between them, the younger man’s chest heaving with his anger. “He came to me. I took him on a date in Chicago while you were texting him. We ended up at a sex club and I fucked him against a table and I slept in his bed that night. Do you really think he’s your boyfriend?”

The heavy fist landed against his jaw before he could react and duck away. Grabbing Derrick by the shirt, he flung him around, slamming him against the side of the SUV. “Do _not_ even try. I will kill you.” 

Crowded against the car, Derrick deflated. “You fucked him in Chicago?”

Nick nodded. “And again just now. I left him asleep in his bed. You can probably still smell his cologne on me.”

Derrick braved a lean forward, recognition flashed in his eyes of the scent he had grown accustomed to on Zak. He just nodded, leaning back against the door. “I’m sorry I hit you.”

Nick shrugged. “Honestly, I came here to kick your ass.”

The younger man laughed, running his hands through his blond hair. “You probably could.”

Nick nodded. “Yeah I could, but it’s not worth it. I’m sorry it happened this way, but it would have never worked out with Zak anyway. He’s more of a diva than you know.”

“Oh, I figured that one out. He’s a bitchy diva.”

Nick laughed. “Hell yeah he is.” He stuck out his hand and Derrick shook it.

“Guess I should get back to my customers. Stop by anytime, just you know… give me a few weeks…”

“Yeah, he’s a hard one to get over.” He watched as the blond man walked back to the bar, his shoulders slightly less confident than when he first walked in the bar. A small piece of him felt guilty, but in the end, it was probably the best way to handle it. Only one punch was thrown and it wasn’t by him so Zak couldn’t be pissed at him for that. Working his jaw, he tried to will away the sting as he climbed back into the car to drive back to Aaron’s. He had to let the bald man out of the cuffs before he had a heart attack and drag him back over to Zak’s so they could spend some needed time together and develop an understanding about this relationship.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Nick walked through the front door of Aaron’s house, putting his keys back on the key rack just inside. “Honey, I’m home!” he hollered.

“It’s about time! My arms hurt!” Aaron shouted as Nick ascended the stairs.

Leaning against the doorjab, Nick just smiled at him, hands in his pockets. “But you look so sexy laying on the bed in handcuffs just waiting for me.”

Aaron grumbled, “You’ve now gotten laid twice within a few hours. You can’t possibly still be horny.”

Nick just shrugged. “I didn’t say I wanted to fuck you right now, but I might just keep these handcuffs around for later.”

“Well until then, take me out of them,” he said, squirming on the bed. “My shoulders and arms are numb.”

“Aw, poor baby,” he snickered, walking over and straddling the nude body. With a quick click, Aaron’s arms were released. He stretched them and rolled his shoulder a few times, glowering at the younger man. “Whatever, you enjoyed it. Roll over.”

Aaron rolled onto his stomach, sighing contentedly as warm hands rubbed over his shoulders. “Hold on, I left my massage lotion at Zak’s,” Nick mumbled, getting off the bed. He returned within the minute, throwing a bottle of lotion from the bathroom down on the bed next to Aaron’s body. Rubbing his hands together vigorously, he warmed the lotion in his hands before returning them to the pale shoulders beneath him. Aaron groaned as the strong fingers worked into his muscles, loosening them gently. Nick watched as the eyes of the elder man closed, his body relaxing under his touch. Taking a breath, he said, “So I went to go see Derrick at the bar before I came back here.”

Aaron just grunted his response, eyes still closed.

“Zak apparently didn’t break up with him.”

His brow furrowed and he felt the muscles tense slightly under his hands. 

“I told him that I was dating Zak now.”

Aaron’s eyes flung open and he tried to sit up. “You did _what_? Does Zak know you went there?”

Nick tumbled off to the side, facing the startled Aaron. “No… I left him asleep in his bed. Apparently I wore him out.”

Running his hand over his face, Aaron stood up, stretching his arms and shoulders before grabbing his boxers and shorts from the floor to put them on. “Fuck, Nick. I didn’t know that was your plan. What did Derrick say?”

Nick shrugged. “He was okay with it after a few minutes. We agreed that Zak is a diva bitch.”

Still standing on the side of the bed, Aaron looked down at him with the fatherly look he had perfected over the years. “So you haven’t told Zak you talked with him yet?”

Nick shook his head, looking up and down the still half nude body before him, casually running his hand down his own chest. “You look so good.”

Aaron just rolled his eyes and grabbed his shirt from the floor. “Come on, we have to go to Zak’s.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nick slid in behind Zak after he declothed beside the bed. Wrapping his arms around the torso, he nuzzled into the hairline at the base of his neck, his body warm from sleep. With soft feathery kisses being placed along his spine, Zak woke up slowly, a small smile on his face. “You wore me out,” he mumbled.

Nick smiled against the tanned skin. “That’s a shame. You did promise you’d make dinner.”

Zak rolled over onto his back, stretching his languid body. “I did... So where did you go? Did you see Aaron?”

Zak’s question snapped him from his thoughts. “What do you mean?”

“I woke up and you weren’t here. I figured you went to see Aaron.”

“I’m right here, Zak,” Aaron said from the chair across the room.

“Oh… hey” Zak said, suddenly self conscious, pulling the sheet up to hide his nude body.

Nick quickly snatched it away, ripping it off his body completely. Rolling back over, he straddled Zak’s body, feeling the strength of his thighs against his own. “I went to see him first because I didn’t know if I’d get kicked out of your house. I knew with him I’d have a place to sleep.”

Hurt etched deep into the age lines on Zak’s face. “You know I’d always welcome you here. Dating or not. You never have to be afraid to show up here, Nick.”

Leaning down, Nick’s lips met the pale pink pucker beneath him, catching him in a slow, loving kiss. “I know, but I had my suspicions that you weren’t being entirely truthful about Derrick,” he said, sitting back up, placing his hands on Zak’s chest. 

The familiar blue eyes casted away from him and over to Aaron at the mention of the other man’s name. “I don’t know how to break up with him. I have no good reason to do it,” he whispered, barely audible.

Strong fingertips brought his face back to center. His eyes drug up the muscular body atop his own. “You don’t have to worry about it now.”

“You… you didn’t…”

Nick nodded, making sure he had Zak pinned down. “I went to go see Derrick. He asked me how Aaron was and I told him I was here to see you because you and I had started dating. We got into a small argument in the parking lot, but I think he knew it wouldn’t last.”

Zak’s body deflated on the bed. He had no idea how he felt about Nick breaking up with Derrick for him. Or even about being broken up with Derrick. “You know, I actually liked him,” he said, sounding only slightly hurt.

Nick’s face scrunched up. “Are you saying you didn’t want me to break up with him for you? Because I’m not interested in being in a four-way relationship. Three-way is already hard enough,” he answered, rolling his body once along the warm muscle beneath him. He was getting hard again as he straddled the older man.

“And you’re married,” Zak groaned out, his hands flying to Nick’s arms on either side of his body.

He glared down at him, his teasing stopped.

“You had no right to go and talk to Derrick, Nick.” Turning to Aaron in the chair, he asked, “Did you know about this?”

Aaron cleared his throat, being snapped out of his thoughts as he watched the two naked men on the bed. “Uh… no. I was handcuffed to the bed while he did that.”

Zak’s eyes blew wide as he looked back up at Nick. “You handcuffed _Aaron_ to the bed?”

Nick’s grin lightened up his face. “Yeah, it was fucking awesome.”

“Is that why you came here?”

“To handcuff Aaron? That was partly the reason…,” he said, bending down, lightly grazing his teeth along the vein in Zak’s strong neck.

Letting out a long sigh, Zak turned his head, looking over at Aaron as Nick laid his body down along his lover’s, alternating between placing gentle kisses and harsh nips on his skin. The temperature in the room slowly rose as their bodies began to move against each other in careful, practiced motion. “To break up with Derrick, I mean,” he asked, punctuating the question with a soft groan.

Nick’s hand roamed between their bodies, encircling the turgid flesh. “Yes,” he whispered. “I came to stake my claim on you… in you. Open for me?”

Zak’s skin was on fire from the hot touches. It burned where he could still feel the trace of Nick’s lips. Obediently, he spread his legs.

Nick sat up, grabbing the massage oil he had left there earlier and a condom, he quickly prepared them with a sensual glance over at Aaron. “Join in?”

The eldest stood, ridding himself of his clothing as he made his way over to the bed to kneel behind Nick. The massage oil and a condom was passed over his shoulder. Slowly, Zak felt the breach, never losing eye contact with the deep brown pools above him as he felt the head pop in before slowly feeling the hot slide of his shaft. Grabbing onto Nick’s hips, he felt Aaron’s hands cover his as eyelashes fluttered, hiding the browns from his gaze. “Fuck, he’s in you,” Zak groaned.

Aaron’s hands tightened over his as he initiated the dance, forcing Nick’s hips into Zak’s body. A low guttural groan released into the room, its origin unknown. Fingernails dug into the pale skin at Nick’s hips as he bent over a little more, resting on his elbows on either side of Zak’s head, burying his face into his neck. Aaron’s half lidded eyes looked down into Zak’s blues as he rocked into them, quickening his pace.

Neither man could look away as Aaron’s hands moved from the gyrating hips to roam up the muscular back, grabbing onto the strong shoulders for better leverage. “More,” mouthed Zak up at him. With a crooked grin, he complied, driving faster and harder into Nick, making their youngest nearly scream. With a swivel of his hips, Aaron did make him scream as he thrust hard against the bundle of sensitive nerves, the sound muffled in the sweat-slick skin of Zak’s neck.

Zak grinned as the man directly above him squirmed, pistoning his hips in deeper. Aaron gave him a wink before running a hand back down Nick’s back, pressing his thumb against his sphincter as he pressed his hips back against him.

As if it were a button, Nick’s body shot up with a loud, low moan, his eyes closed, face flush from pleasure. Over his shoulder, Aaron saw Zak’s face change from a lustful grin to concern. He brought his hand up to touch the side of Nick’s face, his features questioning.

Opening his eyes at the new touch, Nick took the hand from the side of his face, kissing the palm before sex-drunk mumbling, “He hit me.”

“What?!” Zak groaned as Aaron’s hips slammed extra hard into them before pulling Nick farther back so he could see.

“The fuck?” Aaron grunted, as his thumb grazed over the slightly swollen cheek. “I didn’t see this before.”

“Ugh, Aaron, fuck,” he grunted as he was released, falling back on his hands on either side of Zak. Soft hands came up to rub the swollen bump. 

“You got into a fight over me,” Zak said, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Nick thrusted his hips hard into him. “Don’t get used to it.”

Grabbing him by the back of the neck, Zak pulled him down, kissing him hard, trapping his cock between their bodies. Aaron took advantage of the position, placing his hands on his lower back and driving home hot, fast, and hard, the force rippling into Zak’s body beneath them both.

Releasing Nick, Zak groaned out, “I’m not gonna last,” before anchoring his hands on Nick’s arms.

Reaching a hand in between them, Nick grasped Zak’s cock, pumping it furiously with the spilt precum and sweat from their bodies. “Then don’t.” The muscles in his stomach rippled slightly beneath his knuckles, as his body went taut, pearlescent streaks of cum glazing his body. 

“You’re next,” Aaron whispered sultrily in Nick’s ear. “Should we show him how it’s done?”

Pulling him back from Zak, Aaron rolled the condom off of Nick’s hard cock, tossing it over the side of the bed. Wrapping his arms under Nick’s shoulders, Aaron started to thrust hard and fast into the younger man. Zak watched the bodies move in front of him, the pleasure etched on their faces with each thrust. Nick’s hand went to his own cock, pumping it in time with Aaron’s hips. A low moan with some sort of incoherent words escaped swollen lips as his cock erupted in his hand, his cum joining Zak’s on his stomach.

Letting Nick’s spent body fall forward through his spasms, Aaron thrust a few more times, his hips stilling as he spilled into the condom. Pulling out slowly, he pulled the condom off his cock, tying it off and tossing it over the bed with the other spent condom. Collapsing next to the men on the bed, he tried to regain control of his breathing and heartbeat. Nick pulled him closer, stretching his body over both men.

Zak grunted as Nick’s large body wiggled on top of him. “I’m so not sleeping like this. You need to move your ass so we can clean ourselves up.”

Nick grumbled, rolling off on Zak’s other side and getting up off the bed. “Fine.” He walked into the bathroom, coming out with a wad of toilet paper. Gently he wiped up the cum from Zak’s stomach before tossing him his boxers from the floor. Aaron heard the toilet flush as he stood up from the bed, putting his clothes back on. Nick returned from the bathroom, grabbing his own boxers, stretching his body before climbing back in next to Zak. Aaron laid down on his other side, pulling the sheets up around all three of them.

“Cuddle time,” Zak chuckled.

Nick yawned as Aaron’s hand snaked over to rub gently against his swollen jaw. “You need ice.”

Nick snorted. “I’ll be fine.”

“We can’t film with you looking like you got your ass kicked,” Zak said, taking Nick’s jaw in his hand and turning his face so he could get a better look.

“I did not get my ass kicked. Whatever, man. I didn’t even throw a punch. Dude hit _me_. I figured you’d be pissed at me if I hit his pretty face.”

“I would be pissed at you, but I don’t like that he hit _you_ either.”

Aaron, sitting up on his elbow, smiled down at Zak. “You must be something special, bro, for him to let a guy bust up his face like that for you.”

Nick threw his hands in the air. “My face is _not_ busted up, oh my _God_.”

Zak turned and cuddled into his side, “You llooovvveee me.”

Nick ignored him, staring at the ceiling fan turn round and round. “We are not starting this conversation again.”

“What conversation?” Aaron asked, wrapping his arms around Zak from behind.

“Back in Chicago Nick told me he had always loved me.”

“Awwwww. Hey wait…,” Aaron said, peeking up at Nick.

“Do not start. You know I love you. And don’t you owe us dinner?”

Zak sighed. “This relationship thing sucks. Can we just go back to sex?”

Nick pointed towards the door. “Your boyfriends are hungry after all that sex.”

Zak grumbled, crawling over him to get off the bed. He escaped with a swift smack of his ass. With a last look at the two men in the bed, he sulked off to the kitchen. Nick rolled over into Aaron, enjoying the feeling of being cradled in his arms. Sighing he closed his eyes as he rubbed the warm arms around him. “I did miss this.”

A soft kiss was laid to his forehead, and a whispered, “I love you” with the distant sound of pots and pans from downstairs echoing in the bedroom lulled him into slumber.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted in January 2013 on DA


End file.
